SSGC suggests ‘new’ plan to address gas shortage in Karachi

KARACHI: Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) Managing Director Imran Maniyar claimed that the company had devised a new plan to address the continuing gas shortage in Karachi to be implemented from December 27.

In a video message, he assured that the new plan would improve the gas pressure in Karachi from Monday but added, it could resolve only 50 per cent of the gas issue in the port city.

Read more: Efforts being made to improve gas supply, claims Hammad Azhar amid criticism

“We cannot provide gas to everyone during winters, therefore, industries will not get gas supply for one and a half days from Monday,” Maniyar said in the statement.

“If the industries will take stay orders from the courts, everyone will be at a loss.”

“Taking stay orders from courts stops the affairs, which consequently hurt the masses,” said the SSGC MD.

He informed that SSGC was facing a shortfall of 200mmfcd in December and 250mmfcd in January. During the winter season, the gas demand increased from 70 to 200mmcfd in Quetta, he maintained.

As the opposition grills the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government over gas shortages in the country, Energy Minister Hammad Azhar on Friday had also claimed that efforts were being made to improve the supply of gas in the system.

Read more: Despite buying expensive LNG, govt failed to ensure gas supply: Sherry Rehman

Addressing a news conference in the federal capital, he had said that the Sui Southern and Northern Gas companies were making all-out efforts to ensure ‘good management’ of gas supply to domestic consumers despite constraints such as depletion of natural gas reserves and the increased demand in winters.