Gas supply to Punjab textile mills, other industries to be restored tomorrow

LAHORE: After a week of gas suspension, the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) on Wednesday announced that the supply to the textile mills and other industries will be restored on Thursday (tomorrow), ARY NEWS reported.

According to the SNGPL, the gas supply to the captive power industry would be restored on Thursday morning after additional RLNG was added to the system. “We hope that no issues will emerge further,” it said.

It is pertinent to mention here that on June 04, textile mills across Punjab province were shut down amid closure of gas supply to the industries, a day after it emerged that medium and large scale industries have been shut down in the province following the disconnection of power supplies to them.

According to sources, the gas shortage was created owing to a delay in the purchase of imported LNG. “It may take multiple days for the restoration of the gas supply,” they said.

A spokesman for the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) at that time confirmed that gas supplied to captive power plants of the textile mills has been suspended. “Once the LNG cargo reaches port and connected to the system, the gas shortage will be overcome,” he said.

Former Energy Minister and PTI leader Hammad Azhar had said that the government has cut the electricity of industrial units as the country faced hours-long loadshedding after the power shortfall peaked at 7,000 MW.

Azhar said that the government has disconnected power supply to medium and large scale industries. “This will bring a wave of unemployment in the country and will cause a shortage of commodities and ultimately ruin the economy,” he said.

Another PTI leader Shahbaz Gill seconded Hammad Azhar and said that industrial power connections given to industry under B3 and B4 categories have been disconnected for an indefinite period.