Ban on new gas connections hikes backlog

Continuous ban on the provision of new gas connections is not only irking the consumers but also increasing the backlog of the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL). The situation may worsen as there is no hope of lifting the ban by the government keeping in view the depleting indigenous gas reserves, increasing dependency on the import of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and other technical and administrative issues. “While there is no gas, how can we give new connections? But despite all this, we gave new connections in last fiscal year in a bid to reduce the backlog,” SNGPL’s managing director Ali J Hamdani told Dawn. A delay in the finalization of the new gas tariffs for domestic consumers is also causing the ban. According to him, the company used to provide imported LNG after regasification, which costs too much, to consumers at cheaper rates besides providing the system gas (indigenous gas). This forced the authorities to work out a new price formula for domestic consumers. “The work on this issue has almost been done by the quarters concerned,” he added.