Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) Managing Director Rashid Lone on Friday said that closure of some compressed natural gas (CNG) stations in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, NWFP and Punjab was aimed at providing smooth gas supply to domestic users.
Talking to PTV, he said that the recent wave of severe cold had increased gas use among domestic consumers and this step had to be taken to maintain balance between the demand and supply. "Only those units have temporarily been closed which are located in congested population and were consuming major part of gas supply, ultimately affecting domestic consumers," he said.
The SNGPL chief said that 275 CNG stations had been closed in different cities of NWFP and Punjab, which would remain closed for three days. He added that after this another batch of 275 units would be closed for three days, and this cycle would continue till February 10.
At present, the country is facing shortage of 700 million cubic feet gas. He said that the closure of CNG stations was in accordance with the agreement signed between CNG stations and SNGPL that in case of such situation their supply would be curtailed.