The authorities are bracing for another massive increase in the prices of gas next week, owing to the rising circular debt and falling revenue of the gas sector. The final decision will be taken in a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee scheduled to take place in the next few days. A proposal is being considered to increase gas prices between 100% and 150% for non-protected domestic consumers. For some slabs, the tariff will increase by 300% after the inclusion of fixed charges. For the protected consumers, it is likely that only fixed charges will increase, while the tariff will remain unchanged for those consuming 0.5 to 0.9 hectometres of gas. For those consuming one hectometre of gas, the tariff will be brought on par with that of LPG. The Petroleum Division has said that if prices are not increased, the Sui gas companies will lose Rs205 billion. The exchequer is losing Rs200 billion annually due to the supply of LNG at cheap rates. It is also proposed to increase the fixed charge to maintain the summer and winter revenue target. A summary for a gas price hike will be presented in the ECC meeting next week. The Petroleum Division officials said that the burden of the gas price increase will fall on the consumers from July 1. The increase will be applied from October 1, they added.
Gas prices likely to increase next week
