Gas prices likely to be increased

ISLAMABAD: Gas prices for consumers in Sindh and Balochistan are likely to witness an increase as sui companies asked Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) to hike the prices, ARY News reported on Thursday.

According to details, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) sought a price increase of Rs 730.39/MMBTU while Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) wants Rs 391.69/MMBTU with the start of upcoming fiscal year 2023-24. The SSGC have requested OGRA to fix gas price at Rs1060/MMBTU.

In a statement, the regulatory authority said that sui companies have sought price hike for determination of their Estimated Revenue Requirement/prescribed prices for the next financial year 2023-24.

OGRA will conduct one public hearing on the petition of SNGPL on March 20, 2023, in Lahore, and then two for SSGCL – first on March 13, 2023 in Karachi and second on March 17, 2023 in Quetta.

Later, the authority would forward a summary to the federal government after the hearing. The authority said it has invited all interested/affected persons including gas consumers and the general public to furnish their comments, suggestions, and intervention requests.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) hiked the gas prices by 113% in February and issued a notification following the advice of the Petroleum Division.

According to the notification, gas prices were hiked from 16% to 113% for different sectors including domestic consumers. Domestic consumers were divided into 12 categories of protected and unprotected consumers.

On February 13, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the federal cabinet approved the summary for hiking the gas price by 112% for domestic consumers.