Speaking at a seminar in Lahore on Thursday, Federal Environment Minister Hameedullah Jan Afridi said that the government is making all-out efforts to encourage the use of compressed natural gas (CNG) since it is an environment-friendly fuel. Towards that end, duty on the import of CNG kits has been removed, and a plan is in the works to put some 8000 CNG buses on the country's roads.
Another speaker, Senior Executive Director of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority, proudly declared that Pakistan with 2,600 CNG filling stations and 1.8 million vehicles is the world's largest CNG market. And further that in the current year, some 700 new CNG stations would be set up countywide.
All of this sounds great except for the fact that the country is already facing serious gas shortages. The pressure of demand routinely increases in the winter months due to surge in domestic use, but this season has been particularly bad. The production sector in general and the textile industry in particular have been hit hard by the shortage. It is also pertinent to mention here that last July Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) had announced a ban on the opening of new CNG stations in the new financial year.
In fact, that was the second time within the year that SNGPL announced such a ban - the earlier one having been relaxed in the face of pressure from the affectees. It is plain from these details that, like so many other policy issues, not much thought has gone into the proposed expansion plan for the sector. There is not enough gas to meet our existing requirements, yet we want to press ahead to create more demand for it.
It hardly needs saying that vehicular pollution is a major bane of our city life, and must be addressed urgently and effectively. But shifting public transport to the cleaner CNG fuel should be preceded by proper preparatory work. Our economic policy makers and managers must expedite exploration, refining and distribution activity locally as well as procurement from foreign sources to ensure sustained CNG availability. Equally important, they must also ascertain, in an organised manner, the requirements of different users and make allocations in accordance with a carefully determined order of priorities. At present, the highest priority is rightly given to the domestic consumers. But there is need to set a percentage limit for this sector.
As it is, people use gas in homes not only for cooking purposes, but also to heat rooms and run water geysers without any concern for wastage, which is the main cause of wintertime shortages. Excessive use is also common because the homes in this country are not designed to be energy efficient.
A lot of the wastage can be avoided if only the concept of insulation gains popularity, and people also learn to follow such simple routines like keeping the thermostat at a low or moderate point or switching off the appliances when not using them. Energy conservation must become part of sustained awareness campaigns both in schools and the media. Before everything else, the government must set the direction of CNG expansion plan as part of a comprehensive, integrated policy.