LAHORE: Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) decided on Monday to discontinue the supply of gas to CNG (compressed natural gas) stations in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to the SNGPL, the supply is being shut down for an indefinite period. The decision was taken in line with the government’s load management plan aimed at ensuring a gas supply for domestic consumers.
This decision follows that taken for the other provinces. On November 29, Sui Southern Gas Corporation had announced it was cutting off supplies to CNG stations in Sindh and Balochistan for two and a half months.
SSGC had said that as demand has gone up during winter they have had to stop the supply to non-export Captive Power Plants (CPPs) to ensure households can keep kitchens running.
On November 12, Federal Energy Minister Hammad Azhar had said that domestic consumers will get gas three times a day for cooking.
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“The gas supply will be ensured for the residential consumers at breakfast, lunch and dinner,” he said while speaking on the floor of the Senate.
According to the energy minister, the reserves in the country have depleted from 2000 Million Cubic Feet per Day (MMCFD) in 2010 to 800 MMCFD this year.
The All-Pakistan Compressed Natural Gas Association (APCNGA), which represents CNG station owners, had said that it is unjust to cut off supply to stations that use only 15mmcfd to 20mmcfd gas.
They said that shutting down the supply for two and a half months would render thousands of people jobless.
