Lahore facing gas crises yet again
As mentioned by senior officials, the primary reason behind the shortfall of gas is the theft in numerous regions of Punjab and KPK.
LAHORE: With the temperature dropping every minute of the day, the gas crises in the provincial capital has increased. The total shortfall of gas has been recorded at 600 million metric cube feet per day, which is alarming.
The domestic users, as well as CNG (compressed natural gas) sector, have been adversely affected because of the shortfall of gas for the past few days.
Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan, Special Assistant to PM Imran Khan on Information, while addressing media this Sunday said that authorities had been directed by the government to provide an adequate supply of gas to households even at the CNG sector’s cost.
Neither the government nor the gas utilities have made enough efforts to explore the natural gas in the country. The demand for gas supply has increased over the years, but regardless of the increased demand and decreased supply, the government has neglected the gas leakage, and theft. The government has failed to curb the use of compressors at households.
Gas theft is igniting the crisis:
As mentioned by senior officials, the primary reason behind the shortfall of gas is the theft in numerous regions of Punjab and KPK.
An official recently stated, “Half of the total volume of the gas being produced in KP (400MMCFD) is being stolen by the people of the areas close to gas fields. They have their networks to steal gas, claiming it a matter of their right as the gas is being extracted from their areas.”
“The gas available with us ranges between 950 and 970MMCFD. We are also receiving around 1,020MMCFD RLNG (Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas) in our system, but the demand is rising fast, forcing us to stop gas supply to the industry and the CNG sector to accommodate about six million domestic consumers in Punjab and KP,” he further mentioned.
Pakistan has become the fifth most affected country by climate change after the recent fluctuations in the weather. In this regard, a senior official said, “The intensity of winter we are facing these days is very harsh, pushing up demand in all provinces.”
He additionally warned, “The situation appears to be going out of control despite giving 20 percent more gas to domestic consumers.”
As stated by the officials, people are using compressors, which is precisely the reason behind massive gas load-shedding in various parts of the province.
Following the matter, a senior member of Sui Southern Gas Company said, “Initially we had stopped the supply to the CNG sector, but the issue did not resolve. We requested the industry to at least stop using gas meant for captive power plants, but they didn’t listen, rendering the utility helpless in giving relief to the domestic consumers.”
It has further been reported that a gas shortage of 400 MMCFD has been observed in the gas supply of Balochistan and Sindh as well, which makes it an issue that needs to be addressed at its earliest.
What are your views on this? Share with us in the comments bar below.
