ISLAMABAD: As was already being speculated, in a bid to win International Monetary Fund (IMF) support, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has approved a massive 45% increase in gas prices. The new gas prices will be effective from July 1.
OGRA gave this shock to consumers just a day after the government made record increase in the domestic prices of petroleum products, taking petrol to Rs 209/liter and diesel to Rs204.
Based on the Determination of Estimated Revenue Requirement (DERR) for the financial year 2022-23, a 45% increase has been approved for the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) while for Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) a 44% hike has been notified.
After approving an increase of Rs266.58 per MMBTU the price of gas has now been fixed at Rs854.52 per MMBTU for the SNGPL consumers, a notification issued in this regard revealed.
“While for SSGC consumers, the price of gas has been fixed at Rs1,007.82 per MMBTU after an increase of Rs308.53 per MMBTU,” the notification read.
The regulatory authority also mentioned that the financial impact of previous years’ shortfall worth Rs264,894 million i.e. Rs720.20 per MMBTU has been referred to the federal government for an appropriate policy decision and is, therefore, not made part of the instant determination.
