The Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) announced a special gas supply schedule to ensure uninterrupted supply on Independence Day.
According to an SSGC spokesperson, the routine night gas load shedding, usually starting at 10:00 pm, will not take place on the night of August 14–15.
The gas supply will remain available to customers until midnight, an additional two hours. Under normal circumstances, SSGC suspends gas supply daily at 10:00 pm and resumes it at 6:00 am the following morning.
The temporary schedule is issued to facilitate smooth usage for households and businesses on Independence Day.
In a separate development earlier, the government devised a plan to tackle the massive Rs2,800 billion circular debt in the gas sector, similar to measures taken in the power sector. According to media reports, several proposals like increase in gas prices in Pakistan are under consideration, which would result in an additional burden on consumers.
One of the key proposals is to impose a special petroleum levy ranging from Rs3 to Rs10 per litre. Gas prices in Pakistan may also be increased. A dedicated task force is actively working on the plan, which includes borrowing Rs2,000 billion from commercial banks to eliminate the circular debt stock.
This borrowed amount will be repaid by the public over the next seven years through the petroleum levy.
The task force includes retired Lt. Gen. Zafar Iqbal, Privatisation Minister Muhammad Ali, and experts from CPPA, SECP, and NEPRA.
Also read: Traffic plan for Independence Day in Karachi issued
