Minister for Petroleum Division Ghulam Sarwar Khan Saturday said the gas consumers have been allowed to pay their inflated bills in equal installments.
Talking to media persons along with Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Media Iftikhar Durrani, the minister said the step has been taken to facilitate the consumers who cannot afford to pay the total bill in one go. The consumers who received Rs 20,000 gas bill or above are being provided the facility to pay their bill in four installments, he said. The customer care services will remain open on Saturdays and Sundays to facilitate the consumers, he added.
The minister said the Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) and the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) have been directed to avoid disconnecting gas connections of consumers. Admitting that the inflated bills are a burden on the consumers, he said the government is not in a position to pay subsidy owing to poor financial health of gas companies. The system of purchasing costly gas and selling it on cheaper prices cannot last long, he observed. He said due to increased consumption of gas in severe cold, the low-slab consumers have fallen into the higher slabs which is one of the main reasons behind inflated bills.
The government is well aware of the problems of the people, the minister said, and hoped that the situation will start improving from next season. “In 2018, the government of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) approved gas schemes worth Rs 55 billion just to please the people and get votes, which is tantamount to pre poll rigging,” he said. “Some PML-N people have admitted before me that their party won 20 to 30 seats in Punjab in last general elections due to promises of providing gas connections,” he added.
Good news on offshore drilling likely by March-end
The minister said PMN-N did not increase the gas prices in their tenure for cheap political gains. The PTI government is duty-bound to show people the real picture as gas companies can close down if their losses continue, he added. Sarwar said offshore drilling is going on since last month and good news is expected by the end of next month. “So far, 3500 meter deep drilling has been done out of a target of 5500 meters. Government is trying utmost to expedite gas exploration as the current gas reserves are racing towards depletion,” he said. “By 2027, the current reserves may deplete,” he said, adding that the government has abolished duties on offshore drilling to attract maximum investment in this sector.
The minister said cumulative losses of gas companies stand at Rs 154 billion each year, adding that gas worth Rs 50 billion is being stolen every year. He said the present government has taken difficult decision of rationalizing the gas rates in order to pull the gas companies out of loss. He said around 9,300,000 consumers are utilizing the gas service network of SSGCL and SNGPL.
Sarwar said it has been wrongly claimed in the past that the country imports 75 per cent of gas and produced 25 per cent itself. “In fact, we produce only 15 per cent of total gas and import rest of 85 per cent,” he said.
The minister said according to analytical reports, Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) project was the cheapest as comparing to other projects adding that work on the project is underway. The prime minister will be briefed on TAPI next week, he added.
Published in Daily Times, February 3rd 2019.
