In accordance with the gas load management plan, the government has chosen to give the home sector top priority in the winter months in order to guarantee three times as much gas as needed for cooking. This plan will be put into effect from November 1, 2022, through the end of February 2023.
The non-export industry, or the CNG sector, will no longer have access to gas. A senior Energy Ministry official stated that the existing gas supply to the export sector will be cut in half, and more significantly, that the current supply of RLNG to the power sector would be decreased by 40%.
On Wednesday, top representatives from the Petroleum Division and gas businesses met in person to finalize the gas load management plan that would be presented to the prime minister for approval.
The government will only guarantee gas to home consumers for culinary purposes three times even after diverting 250–350mmcfd of RLNG to the domestic sector due to the severe piped gas shortage.
In addition to charging a one-time fee of Rs7,000 for each cylinder, “Both the gas utilities, Sui Northern and Sui Southern, would also import LPG on a daily basis totaling 20,000 metric tonnes at a cost of over Rs2,300 each cylinder.
An estimated gas shortfall of 250mmcfd in November, 400mmcfd in December, 700-750mmcfd in January, and 250mmcfd in February 2023 have been calculated by the concerned officials for the Sui Northern and Sui Southern systems, respectively.
This implies that during the coldest month of the year, January 2023, the nation would have a gas shortfall of more than 1.1 billion cubic feet per day. However, Sui Northern will have access to RLNG at 600 mmcfd and local gas at 750 mmcfd in November, 800 mmcfd and 800 mmcfd in December, and the same gas at 800 mmcfd and 800 mmcfd in January and February of 2023.
The government has agreed to decrease the Power Division’s LNG gas supply from 470mmcfd to 250mmcfd starting in November 2022. In January, the gas supply to the power industry could further decline to 200mmcfd. However, the gas supply to the power industry could climb to 350mmcfd in February. Up to 4,000 MW more coal-based electricity would be produced by the government. Additionally, the nation would continue to rely on nuclear power. Only during the winter months does the demand for power fluctuate between 9,000 MW and 12,000 MW.
