SNGPL clarifies

ISLAMABAD: The Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) Monday clarified a news item slugged 'SNGPL disconnects 2,000 commercial connections on public demand' published in The News on April 6 stating that it had not issued any statement referred to in the article, which was not based on facts.

In a statement, the company said, “As a responsible organization, the SNGPL is obligated to implement the tariffs approved by the Ogra and the government.”

It is pertinent to mention that the cost of indigenous gas has increased by Rs69 billion during the last two years, which is linked with the crude oil and US dollar.

The SNGPL is however supplying natural gas to the protected category consumers at an average price of Rs513 per MMBTU against the cost of Rs1,674 per MMBTU.

At present, 60% of SNGPL's domestic consumers fall under the protected category whose gas bills remained less than Rs2,000 in the month of February.

Similarly the average cost of RLNG is about Rs3,500 per MMBTU while it's being sold at Rs1,100 per MMBTU to the domestic sector. Even otherwise, the RLNG tariff is cheaper than alternative fuels, including the LPG used by the commercial sector.

Furthermore, the mentioned disconnection of 3,900 domestic connections due to non-payment was a routine action taken against defaulters.

Khalid Iqbal adds: The clarification has missed out on the crux of story that reported 2,000 disconnections at the request of commercial consumers themselves who complained about massive hike in tariff and expressed their inability to pay bills. This reporter stands by his story.