Caretaker Power Minister Muhammad Ali has revealed that gas supply in Pakistan will be restricted to eight hours during the winter season due to diminishing natural gas reserves in the country.
Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, Minister Ali acknowledged that gas loadshedding has been a recurring issue in recent years and will continue this year due to the insufficient supply of gas to sustain 24-hour operations.
He explained that a loadshedding plan has been devised to ensure a gas supply of eight hours, similar to the previous year. Furthermore, the minister disclosed that natural gas reserves have declined by 18% compared to the previous year.
Minister Ali expressed optimism that the gas shortage issue for the industry in December will see some improvement, as two liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes have been finalized to address the situation.
Despite the challenges, he emphasized that concerted efforts are being made to maintain gas availability for domestic, industrial, and fertilizer sectors during the upcoming winter season while minimizing gas load management.
Minister Ali elaborated, “We have only two LNG terminals and limited natural gas, but today we have finalized two LNG cargoes for December, which would help address the gas supply issues in December for the industry. The gas supply was also being improved for the fertilizer sector.”
Regarding the ongoing crackdown on power theft, the minister revealed that Rs16 billion had been collected from electricity defaulters during the ongoing campaign, which will continue to target offenders.
He also announced plans to change the board of directors (BoDs) of all power distribution companies (DISCOs) and transfer the management of DISCOs to the private sector on a long-term concession basis.
Earlier this week, it was reported that the Petroleum Division was finalizing a proposal to increase the gas tariff, which is expected to be presented for approval in an upcoming Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) meeting.
