Business

Govt says gas to be provided only for 8 hours in winters

Published

1 year ago

Farwa

Minister says gas would be available only in morning, afternoon and evening in winters.

Gas to be available only in morning, afternoon, evening.
Minister says govt has ordered LNG to address shortage.
2 cargoes arranged for Dec, govt to also order more for Jan.

ISLAMABAD: Following a massive hike in gas tariff, Caretaker Energy Minister Muhammad Ali gave the masses another blow when he announced that gas will be available only for 8 hours a day during the winter season, reported The News on Friday.

In a press conference alongside interim Information Minister Murtaza Solangi, the energy minister said that the government would be unable to provide the gas round-the-clock and clarified that it would only be available in morning, afternoon and evening.

He also shared that two LNG cargoes have been arranged for December 2023 to address the shortage as much as possible and that they also plan to order two LNG cargoes for January 2024.

In Pakistan, 30% of the country uses piped gas, while 70%, mostly in rural areas, relies on burning wood and LPG. Of the piped gas users, more than half have been kept insulated from the tariff increase. He also noted that the rich people in urban areas were getting piped gas at 25% of the cost the poor were paying in rural areas for LPG.

The minister said that there are 10 million domestic gas connections and that the government did not hike the gas tariff for 57%, as they were mostly low-income people and were in protected slabs. However, he added that the fixed price of Rs10 had been increased to Rs400/month. Their monthly bill was earlier Rs200 to 900, which will now be Rs600 to 1,300/month. The government is trying it bring it near the price of LPG, he added.

Ali said that 57% of domestic consumers were consuming 31% of the total gas. After the increase, they would pay 11% of the total cost of gas for the domestic sector.

“3% and the wealthy were consuming 17% and paying 39%. Similarly, the middle slab consumers, which is 39% of the total domestic consumers, consume 52% of gas and pay 49%.”

He further said the gas tariff for the power sector and tandoors had not been increased. The fertiliser sector had also been insulated from the increase, he said.

In the commercial sector (including hotels and restaurants), the tariff has been equalised at Rs3,600 per mmBtu.

Earlier, there were two types of tariffs for them, one was Rs1,100/mmBtu for local gas consumers (mostly old connections) and Rs3,600/mmBtu for the RLNG-based supplies. The volume of local gas connection was 49% and RLNG was 51%.

Meanwhile, the tariff for the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) sector has been increased to 80% of the petrol prices. Earlier, the CNG price was almost half of the petrol price. Now it will be 80% of the petrol price.

The minister said the caretaker government had frozen the energy sector circular debt after the increase of power and gas tariffs in accordance with its commitment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

However, he cautioned that in the next two years, the local pipeline gas would be unavailable to households and they would have to shift to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and would not lift the embargo on new gas connections.

The minister said the government had stopped the addition of energy sector circular debt and it would not increase from now, and that it had happened for the first time in the last 10 to 15 years.

He added that Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) had approved an increase in gas tariffs, and now, after the federal cabinet’s approval, the new prices would be implemented.

Business

SFD and Pakistan Sign Two Deals Totaling $1.61BLN

Published

1 day ago

Farwa

Two agreements totaling $1.61 billion have been inked by Pakistan and the Saudi Fund for Development to improve their bilateral economic cooperation.

Business

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan sign an MOU to strengthen their auditing industry collaboration.

Published

1 day ago

Farwa

A spokesperson for the office of the Auditor-General of Pakistan (AGP) announced on Monday that the two countries have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen cooperation in public sector auditing through improved cooperation between audit institutions of both countries, as well as training programs and the exchange of trainers.

This comes as a group from Saudi Arabia’s General Court of Audit (GCA), headed by GCA President Dr. Hussam bin Abdulmohsen Alangari, arrived in Pakistan on Sunday for a four-day visit.

The agreement was signed during AGP Muhammad Ajmal Gondal’s meeting with the Saudi delegates, aiming to strengthen audit cooperation, enhance knowledge-sharing, and improve governance, transparency and accountability in government spending.

Public relations officer Muhammad Raza Irfan of the AGP’s office told Arab News that the deal will further advance bilateral collaboration between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in addition to enhancing professional ties between the two nations’ auditing institutions.

In a statement released from his office, AGP Gondal was cited as saying, “This collaboration marks a significant step toward fostering international cooperation in auditing.”

“The exchange of ideas and methodologies will undoubtedly strengthen our capacity to meet emerging challenges and set new benchmarks for public accountability.”

Discussions at Monday’s meeting focused on fostering closer ties between the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, sharing innovative audit methodologies, and planning collaborative initiatives for the future, according to the AGP office.

The two parties decided to increase their knowledge of theme, environmental, and impact audits as well as to exchange best practices in audit standards, performance audits, and citizen participation audits.

The statement added, “It also agreed to exchange trainers, address new auditing challenges, plan cooperative audits, including a performance audit on the oil and gas sector in 2025, and work together on training programs.”

Both sides reaffirmed their shared commitment to promoting transparency, accountability and excellence in public sector auditing.

Business

The government chooses to continue the PIA privatization process.

Published

1 day ago

Farwa

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) privatization process will be restarted by the federal government, and expressions of interest would be requested within the month. Officials stated that the Prime Minister’s Committee on Privatization will convene to make the final decision.

Usman Bajwa, the secretary of the Privatization Commission, gave a briefing on the updated procedure to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Privatization. Additionally, he disclosed that airlines other than PIA are now able to compete with regional carriers thanks to IMF-approved aircraft tax concessions.

Farooq Sattar, the chairman of the privatization committee, underlined the importance of giving PIA workers at least five years of job security. Employee protection will continue to be a top priority and will be resolved prior to bidding, the Privatization Commission promised.

PIA’s liabilities totaling Rs650 billion have already been assumed by the government, and an additional Rs45 billion in outstanding debts must be paid before the privatization process can begin. As of the now, PIA has assets around Rs155 billion and liabilities worth Rs200 billion. It will be necessary for the new buyer to expand the fleet by 15 to 20 aircraft.

Additionally, the Privatization Committee has sought a timeline for the privatization of Faisalabad, Gujranwala, and Islamabad Electric Supply Companies. Officials stated that after the appointment of a financial advisor, the privatization process for these companies will accelerate.