The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) established by the PTI government has approved new gas rates for 2018 after which consumers will face an increase of 10% to 143%.
The price increase will be applicable for all sectors including:
- Domestic consumers
- Commercial users
- Industrial Sector
- Fertilizer Sector
- Power Sector
- Cement Sector
- Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Sector
Government exempted those sectors which are export oriented such as textile, sports goods and surgical products.
Changes were also made in the gas slabs, increasing them from 3 to 7. The impact and affect of the new gas prices on different consumers will be as follows:
Gas Consumption | No. of Consumers | Increase Percentage | Bill Before Increase | Bill After Increase |
Residential- 50 cubic metres | 3,561,545 | 10% | Rs. 252 | Rs. 275 |
Residential- 100 cubic metres | 2,637,863 | 15% | Rs. 480 | Rs. 551 |
Residential- 100-200 cubic metres | 1,740,614 | 20% | Rs. 1,851 | Rs. 2,216 |
Residential- 200-300 cubic metres | 436,248 | 25 % | Rs. 2,764 | Rs. 3,449 |
Residential- 300-400 cubic metres | 524,391 | 30% | Rs. 9,900 | Rs. 12,980 |
Residential- 400-500 cubic metres | 226,129 | 143% | Rs. 12,482 | Rs. 30,339 |
Residential-500+ Cubic metres | 237,078 | 143% | Rs. 14,973 | Rs. 30,402 |
Commercial | 40% | Rs. 700 per MMBTU | Rs. 980 per MMBTU | |
Fertilizer Sector (feedstock) | 50% | Rs. 123 per MMBTU | Rs. 185 per MMBTU | |
Fertilizer Sector (fuel stock) | 40% | Rs. 600 per MMBTU | Rs. 780 per MMBTU | |
Captive Power Plants | 40% | Rs. 600 per MMBTU | Rs. 780 per MMBTU | |
Power Sector | 57% | Rs. 400 per MMBTU | Rs. 629 per MMBTU | |
Cement Sector | 30% | Rs. 750 per MMBTU | Rs. 975 per MMBTU | |
CNG Sector | 40% | Rs. 800 per MMBTU | Rs. 980 per MMBTU |
Oil & Gas Regularity Authority (OGRA) requested an average increase of 46% but government approved an increase of 35%.
In the press conference Petroleum Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan claimed that most people of Pakistan use liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for which prices will decrease after import tax had been rationalized.
They claimed that it will help government to reduce the loss of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) & Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) from Rs. 152 Billion to Rs. 58 billion in 2018-2019.
The decisions made by ECC will now be sent to federal cabinet which will approve it and then it will be sent to OGRA. The new rates are effective immediately and will become part of next months bill.