After petrol price hike, OGRA approves 45% increase in gas tariff from July

By
Saif ur Rehman
A representational image. Reuters/File
A representational image. Reuters/File

  • 45% increase in gas prices has been approved for SNGPL consumers. 
  • For SSGC consumers, 44% increase has been approved.
  • New prices will come into effect from July 1.


ISLAMABAD: In a bid to reach a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) Friday approved an increase in gas prices just a day after a massive increase in the price of petroleum products.

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. The new prices will be effective from July 1.

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.

Govt jacks up petrol price to Rs209.86 per litre

The government is removing subsidies on commodities to reach a staff-level agreement with the IMF as part of efforts to strengthen the fragile economy of the country, 

In this connection, a day earlier the price of petrol has been moved up by Rs30 to Rs209.86, just a few days after the government hiked the POL prices by the same amount.

Ismail, in a press conference, said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has approved hiking the price of petrol, diesel, and light diesel by Rs30 per litre, while the kerosene oil price went up by Rs26.38 per litre, effective from June 3.

NEPRA raises basic electricity tariff by Rs7.9 per unit

In addition, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) also raised the basic power tariff by Rs7.9078/kWh for the next fiscal year 2022-23 increasing the burden of inflation on the people of Pakistan.

The decision has been taken in line with the IMF’s demands and the power distribution companies’ requests. Currently, the basic power tariff is Rs16.91 per unit and with an increase of Rs7.9078 per unit, it will be more than Rs24 per unit.