ISLAMABAD: The federal government has issued new policy guidelines, directing Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) to process all new domestic gas connections only on imported re-gasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) tariff.
These instructions come after the federal cabinet’s decision on September 10 to partially lift the ban on new gas connections.
According to the Petroleum Division, consumers who had already paid urgent fees and received demand notices will be given priority for RLNG connections.
However, they must submit an affidavit confirming they agree to receive RLNG instead of the cheaper indigenous gas. Urgent RLNG connections will be provided within three months. At the same time, all pending applications for indigenous system gas have been canceled.
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The new rules also allow the two companies to issue up to 50% of new connections each year on urgent fees. A separate merit list will be maintained for bulk and special domestic users.
Households whose gas supply has been disconnected for more than a year will also be shifted to RLNG.
Existing consumers will continue to receive system gas, but the government has clarified that future tariff changes will also apply to them.
The Petroleum Division has ordered the gas utilities to immediately issue new application forms and demand notices for RLNG-based connections and stop accepting applications under the old system.
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Earlier, the Power Division refused to purchase costly imported LNG for power plants, leaving excess RLNG in the system.
Petroleum Minister Ali Pervez Malik recently raised the issue with Power Minister Awais Leghari, stating that large volumes of imported LNG were no longer being utilized by the power sector.
This step marks a major policy shift as RLNG is about 65% more expensive than locally produced gas, according to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra).
New Gas Connection Security Fee in Pakistan:
Under the newly approved policy, the security deposit for an RLNG-based domestic gas connection has been fixed at Rs20,000.
In addition, service charges will be Rs1,500 for houses up to 10 marlas and Rs3,000 for larger houses.
This means the total connection cost will be Rs21,500 for regular houses and Rs23,000 for bigger ones.
Households whose gas supply has been disconnected for one year or more will now only qualify for RLNG-based connections.
