With consumer relief, ECC rejects the increase in domestic gas invoices, approves the increase in industry

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) rejected a proposal from the oil department on Saturday to increase gas invoices for domestic consumers, citing the need to relieve relief in the midst of increasing inflation.

The ECC met in Islamabad under the president of the Federal Minister of Finance and Income, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb and participated in officials of the Department of Finance and Oil.

After a thorough discussion, the ECC, however, approved an increase in gas invoices for electricity plants from RS3,000 per MMBTU to RS3,500 per MMBTU to secure the required revenue for the gas sector during the financial year 2024-25.

The ECC also commissioned the oil department to take the necessary measures to impose a transition on the network on power plants to enhance the effectiveness of the energy sector.

Last month, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) determined an increase in gas price by 8.71-25.78% across the country to be effective from January 1, 2025.

OGRA has determined the revision of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGC) for FY2024-25.

According to the review, the gas selling price increased by 8.71% for consumers at Sindh and Balochistan in SSGC jurisdiction and 25.78% for consumers in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which fall below SNGPL.

The regulator increased the gas selling price by RS1778.35 per MMBTU for each consumer of Sui Northern and RS1762.51 per MMBTU for each consumer of Sui Southern.

T Country browsing a challenging course of economic recovery and has been backed by a $ 7 billion installation by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in September.

Inflation of Pakistan’s consumers slowed down at 4.1% over 6-1/2 years in December, mainly due to the high basis of time. This was below government forecasts and significantly lower than a multilevel high of about 40% in May 2023.