Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) is reluctant to provide necessary evidence of curtailment of CNG station associations, which has formed basis for the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) to finalise investigation against the associations.
It is learnt on Monday that the Ogra has shown its reluctance to provide necessary data on fixation of CNG prices to the CCP, which would prove curtailisation of CNG stations. The CCP has started the investigation against the CNG stations on a letter of the Ogra, which was forward to the commission for curtailment purposes. Now, the Ogra is not ready to share information which might be helpful in confirming curtailisation by such associations.
Sources said that CCP has been repeatedly asking the Ogra for information on the basis of which the authority had directed the CNG association barring them from fixation of prices. The copy of the same letter was also sent to the CCP for action against the associations. So far, the Ogra has not provided the required information despite repeated calls and letters to the authority.
They said that Ogra might have a circular of CNG association about the fixing of CNG prices which could be used as evidence against either of the association. The CCP has completed the hearing of two CNG associations while the hearing against another is underway.
It may be mention here that issue was referred to the CCP by the Ogra when CNG station have escalated price of per Kg CNG by Rs 13 although the government clarified that the prices were increased only between Rs 5-6 per kg. But the CNG stations continued charging higher prices for quite some time.
Sources said that the Ogra had not only disassociated itself from the price fixing but also communicated through a letter to the CNG association that they were not allowed to fix the prices. The CCP on July 9 in a letter to the CNG Associations has forwarded a questionnaire for answer. The associations were asked to explain about CNG prices increase in the light of Ogra letter.