Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) is set to restore supply of regasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) to CNG stations of Punjab including Potohar region, and fuel stations will reopen after 15 days from 06:00am today (Friday).
A notification issued by SNGPL to All Pakistan CNG Association said the company will restore RLNG supply to the CNG stations from Friday.
The CNG stations across Punjab are based on imported RLNG and were closed for two weeks starting from December 28 as a result of serious gas shortage. Owing to the closure of the CNG stations, thousands of vehicles, especially mini-buses, taxis, vans and rickshaws were forced to either shift to expensive petrol or go off the roads. The gas suspension to the CNG stations also created problems for the people depending on public service vehicles to commute.
Besides CNG stations, the LNG supply to certain private power plants as well as fertilizer sectors was also suspended.
Talking to Business Recorder, APCNGA's senior leader Ghiyas Abdullah Paracha welcoming the decision said that the suspension of gas supply to CNG stations made thousands of people associated with the CNG sector jobless as, on average, at least 30 employees work at each CNG station while thousands others are working on allied business. "Our business is already in tatters with only 1,300 CNG stations are operational out of a total of 2,200 CNG stations in Punjab and Islamabad," he regretted.
Approximately 0.6 to 0.7 million vehicles, out of a total of 3.7 million CNG vehicles in Pakistan, run on gas fuel in Punjab and Islamabad, he said. "These vehicles including buses, vans, rickshaws and taxies offer cheap transport to the public and shifting to petrol or diesel will increase fares. Hence, the impact of the economic cost will be transferred to the poor people," he said. The CNG association is scheduled to announce the next strategy after its meeting on Monday. According to a former senior official of SNGPL, Punjab and Islamabad face a shortfall of 700 to 800 mmcf per day as demand increases during winter season. "The SNGPL diverts gas supply towards domestic users from the industry during the winter season," he said.