ISLAMABAD:
After the International Monetary Fund asked the caretaker administration, which has obviously decided to pass on the losses in this sector to the people, to jack up its rate, the price of petrol is projected to increase by more than 50 per cent the following week. This hike is expected to take place.
The gas industry suffers an annual loss of 350 billion rupees, and its total circular debt has reached 2.70 trillion rupees.
After the price increase, the rates of both Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) are expected to go up by Rs415 per mmbtu and Rs417 per mmbtu, respectively. This information comes from many sources.
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) has already given its approval for a rise in the price of petrol.
According to the sources, Ogra had reportedly forwarded its final clearance to the federal government in order to raise the prices of petrol.
The differential in the import tariffs for natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) will no longer exist either when this change is made.
In accordance with the deal reached with the IMF, the increase in the cost of a gallon of petrol will become effective on July 1, 2023.
The increase in pricing will be announced in an official notification that will be issued by the energy ministry.
Recently, Pakistan received authorization from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to delay the payment of energy bills for clients who use up to 200 units per month for a period of three months. In return, Pakistan was required to declare a 50% increase in petrol prices beginning in July, as well as a stricter enforcement of laws regarding the theft of energy.
The Washington-based lender granted conditional approval for the gradual payment of electricity bills for the month of August over the course of three months for customers who are not qualified for subsidies and who use up to 200 monthly units.
Consumers on life support and those falling under this consumption group will not be eligible for the interim respite that is being offered because they are already shielded from price increases.
As a direct consequence of this, around four million customers, or almost ten percent of the total, will be qualified for this help. The government had initially requested permission to allow installed payments of bills for customers using up to 400 monthly units; this proposal was denied by the IMF, which would have benefited 32 million customers, or 81% of the total.
According to the sources, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had also demanded the implementation of the weighted average cost in order to fully recover the prices of imported petrol from the customers.
In order to do this, you will need to calculate the price of petrol by taking into account the prices of both imported LNG and the local one. After that, an average price for a gallon of petrol will be calculated, and prices that are specific to individual consumers will be established.
The government of Pakistan has already begun an anti-electricity theft campaign with the intention of lowering the amount of technical and economic losses experienced by power distribution companies.
Mohammad Ali, the Interim Energy Minister, stressed the significance of putting a stop to theft and unpaid bills by highlighting the yearly loss of 589 billion rupees that results from these problems.