The accumulated dues of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) against Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) and Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation reached Rs 72 billion. The matter was discussed during the Public Accounts Committee (PAC)''s sub-committee meeting. The meeting examined the audit reports of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources for year 2002-03. Naveed Qamar was the convenor of the meeting.
Zuhair Siddiqui, Managing Director SSGC, informed the Public Accounts Committee (PAC)''s sub-committee that the KESC had to clear Rs 50 billion outstanding payable from 2009-12. Naveed Qamar suggested the SSGC management to suspend gas supply to the KESC being utilised for power generation until clearance of their dues. "Once we suspended the gas supply to the KESC''s power plants and Karachi was engulfed by dark but the supply was soon restored on the directives from Islamabad," the MD explained.
He further said that the company made a financial arrangement with the KESC management in 2012. "Under the arrangement, the KESC has to pay Rs 1 billion in addition to current bill payment if they want us to maintained supply level of 226 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD)," he added. The Managing Director further explained that Rs 22 billion was outstanding against Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation and the corporation was not in a position to clear the dues.
Naveed Qamar said that the ministry should have fixed the unaccounted for gas (UFG) losses once for all. The committee was informed that the UFG losses were 8.36 per cent in 2000-01, 8.25 per cent in 2001-02 and 8.05 per cent in 2002-03. These were over and above the standardised rate of 6 per cent. Thus, gas valuing Rs 8.3 billion has been wasted during those three years. The Auditor General of Pakistan stressed the management of the SSGCL to take effective steps to control the losses. The committee deferred the audit reports of Pakistan State Oil (PSO) till next meeting as the Managing Director failed to appear before the committee.