The government has increased gas prices by 5.81 percent per MMBTU for domestic, commercial, industrial, Wapda and other power sector companies, except domestic consumers using up to 100 MMBTU, to be effective from July 1. However, gas prices for fertiliser feedstock has been raised by 12.50 percent.
The prices for slab I would stand at Rs 73.95 per MMBTU, while the consumers using 100-200 MMBTU or slab II would pay Rs 7.01 more ie Rs 127.62 from Rs 120.61. The consumers using 200-300 MMBTU (slab III) would pay Rs 204.17 instead of Rs 192.96, which means Rs 11.21 more than the old rates, whereas consumers using over 300 MMBTU (slab IV) would pay Rs 14.56 more ie Rs 265.57 from Rs 251.01.
Gas rates for hotel and residential colonies would stand at Rs 127.62 from Rs 120.61, commercial consumers/ice factories Rs 243.67 from Rs 221.78, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Rs 234.67 from Rs 197.11, industrial consumer/captive power, Rs 208.56 from Rs 197.11, cement factories Rs 240.28 from Rs 227.09, power Rs 208.56 from Rs 197.11, Wapda's gas turbine power station, Nishatabad, Faisalabad, Rs 208.56 from Rs 197.11, fertiliser fuel Rs 208.56 from 197.11.
In fertiliser feed stock, gas prices for Dawood Hercules Chemical Limited, Chichoki Mallian, Sheikupura and Pak-China Fertiliser, Haripur has been raised by 12.50 percent or Rs 9.25 from Rs 73.99 to Rs 83.24 per MMBTU while the rates for Pak-Arab Fertiliser, Multan and Hazara Phosphate Fertiliser Plant Limited, Haripur would remain unchanged.
M.H. Asif, Member Finance, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) said that gas prices for 72 percent consumers who use 100 MMBTU have been exempted from this raise while slab II (19 percent consumers), slab III (7 percent consumers) and slab IV comprising 2 percent consumers would pay only 5.81 percent more.
Ogra had recommended Rs 4.08 per MMBTU raise for slab-I consumers but the government did not agree with the proposal and shifted it to other categories of domestic and industrial consumers.
The current increase would inflate revenue by Rs 7 billion to Rs 157 billion against Rs 150 billion of previous year of which Rs 130 billion would go to the producers, Rs 18 billion for Transmission and Distribution (T&D) while Rs 9 billion would go to the gas companies for their expenditure, Asif said and added that Rs 2 billion would be the gas development surcharge (GDS).
He said that phenomenal and unprecedented rise in oil prices in global market resulted in increase of cost of gas to Rs 12.3 billion against Rs 7.2 billion of previous year, adding that this difference would be met through consumption pattern.
The Ogra official said that gas consumption would be 4.7 percent during 2005-06 while target for losses has been set at 5.75 percent against 6 percent of previous year.
"The idea to slash losses target is to push gas companies to improve their efficiency," Asif maintained.
Replying to a question, he said that international standard for losses is between 3 to 6 percent and Ogra was hoping 4 percent losses by 2010-11.
Answering another question, Asif said that the government was still providing subsidy of Rs 9 billion per annum to the domestic consumers.
He was of the view that only 17 percent of total population consumes gas while the remaining 83 percent use other sources like LPG, kerosene oil and electricity.