Islamabad:
The Pakistan oil division has published a new framework prohibiting new gas connections to national consumers. In this regard, the division ordered the public gas services to reject approximately three million pending requests, submitted by national consumers, officials announced on Wednesday.
The framework, approved by the Federal Firm and sent to Suit Southern Gas Company (SSGC) and SUN Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGP), moves the supply of new connections with imported gas, which will cost consumers about 70% more than gas produced locally.
According to the new policy, SSGC and SNGP will be able to provide gas connections imported to 50% of candidates within one year, on the payment of urgent costs. Consumers who pay the costs will be linked to the gas supply imported within three months.
Households whose connections have remained inactive for one year will also be moved to imported gas.
Officials have said that the frame consists of nine conditions governing imported gas connections and aims to reduce pressure on the exhaustion of interior reserves.
A week earlier, the federal office approved the resumption of new gas connections across the country, ending a ban imposed in 2021. The Minister of Petroleum, Ali Perviz Malik, said that the federal office had approved the resumption of new gas connections across the country, raising the prohibition imposed in 2021.
Information of the media on the decisions of the cabinet, he declared that the government had responded to the high request from the public by raising the ban on new connections.
He added that the firm has decided to allow new domestic gas connections, especially in newly developed housing areas where residents were forced to count on LPG cylinders and alternative fuels.
The Minister assured that the two SUP companies had already completed the supply processes for meters and pipelines, and would immediately begin to process requests once the official notification issued.
Existing candidates would also have the possibility of converting their requests into RLNG connections by paying the prescribed security costs to OGRA, he added.
