The Government of Pakistan has reportedly decided to increase gas tariff for all consumers, a move triggered by the severe gas crisis the country currently faces.
This increase will apply to CNG as well as gas used for domestic and commercial purposes. It will vary between 14 per cent and 207 per cent depending on the region and nature of utilisation, according to the Petroleum Ministry’s estimates.
Along with the tariff hike, the government will continue to impose gas load-shedding across the country. CNG stations have been facing closures for the past few weeks, causing long queues at the pumps across the country.
It has also been reported that the government may announce a complete shutdown of CNG stations for a few months.
Local transporters have also announced strikes to protest against these shutdowns and tariff hikes, causing trouble to the masses, who use public transport for everyday travels.
Will these moves, load-shedding and tariff-hike, help the government tackle the current gas crisis?
How will these actions affect the consumers, who rely on CNG as a cheaper alternate to petrol?
What measures should the government take to tackle the gas shortage?
Dawn.com invites its readers to give their views and suggestions.
Import liquefied natural gas
All commenting here are proposing solutions but look at our leaders – all of them are fighting – pointing fingers at each other, talking about seat adjustments and who gets what the next time around. The real solution is to get rid of these so called leaders.
The government should pick speed on Turkemanistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan(TAP), Iran-Pakistan-India(IPI) and Qatar-Pakistan gas pipelines .Ask USA & EU countries to develop atleast TAP line through intl Consortium.Security issue to this pipeline is not as big as projected.Given the adequate funds/weapons security companies positioned in Balochistan and Kandhar/Herat regions along the pipeline route will deliver the result.
Dr.Samar Mubarak Mund, the nuclear scientist working on Thar coal gasification project has said on a television channel that he can provide the required gas for the entire country within a year if he is given one and half billion dollar for the Thar coal project. He said he has successfully built four units and those are producing coal gas but the governmnet has failed to fetch the gases for use. All hands should be given with sufficient investment to help Dr. Samar Mubarak and his team so that countries power crisis is overcome.
Look at alternative sources of fuel.
Look at cleaner energy sources, solar, wind, hydro.
Better public transport system. subways, trams, official bus routes. new fuel efficient vehicles.
tolls for cars and company vehicles to use cbd roads and highways.
secure long term supplies for gas, oil and coal. whether this be internally or imported.
exploration for resources.
look at new advancements in technique to draw fuels from current sources. e.g shale, seam gas extraction.
This is all obviously dependent on no corruption, stable or reducing population and education of the public in regards to recycling, use of resources and there impact on the environment and society.
If they could only turn their attentions good…
Stop the use of CNG in public transport.
Stop gas supply to industries.
Stop the use of CNG in public transport.
1. Reasonable price formula needs to be adjusted and subsidy to be curtailed. This will reduce the demand for vehicular use.
2. Gradual ban for vehicular usage
3. Expedite work on explorations and regional pipelines
4. Import of LNG
First of all the gov’t should be sincere to solve the problem than it will go for the possible solutions. In short term, the gov’t should shut down the supply of CNG to heavy vehicles specially to busses and vans or vehicles above 1000cc to reduce the load on natural gas consumption. It should also ban the uses of gas operated generators. In the long term solution, the gov’t should go for new reservior exploration and purchasing from neighbouring countries like Iran. Solution of electricity shortage will also play an important role in reducing burden over natural gas.
Very simple!
Famous saying,if you can not take the heat; get out of the kitchen.Let some one else do the job.
Ever since these corrupt politicians came in to power,pakistani peoples particularly poor masses are suffering from never ending hunger.They turned this country in to a country of beggars.We have lost our respect in the world community.
Enough is enough.If these thugs have any sense of self respect,which I suspect,should resign right away.Now!
Totally agree to you. One question I would however, ask the governments who reigned in the past 20 years is that were they sleeping all the time? Didn’t they knew that the gas consumption will increase up-to 80% by the year 2011? Why didn’t they thought of exploring more or looking for alternative resources then? Instead of allocating 80% of our budgets to forces why not allocate half of it on developmental tasks? I hope the next government does something good and ‘useful’ for the country.
Well i think its more of the mis planning while introducing gas kits for use in vehicles and in electric generator during Musharraf era welfare. our all economic ministry was failed to understand that till 2000 claims they were doing for billions of natural gas resources would spent away when public would be given cheap fuel and cars at through away loans . It was never thought people would spend this resource just for own personnel luxuries .
Now what govt has to do is to tapped this disadvantage and convert it in our strength .
1 Explore rather shift on Solar energy for industries and power plants then gas .
2 Early completion of water dams
3 try avoid fouling itself in expensive qatar gas contract cause it was well worked out that this is most expensive offer on the block for pakistan needs
4. Improve urban transport and encourage travelling to offices in official bus or transport or using public transport rather taing out personal car or vehicle for single person use.
5. In city blocks be marked for power plant using garbage to consume city garbage for cheap source of electricity
=====Please , Please and please be honest and loyal with this country in dealing with this problem rather scrubbing these ideas for own profit making them another acam ===========
May Allah bring some mercy on us from corrupt ones
Well said Mr. Ahmad.
This is nothing else but the TRUTH.
The current leaders should be prosecuted and placed on ECL at the end of their term.
Prime Minister is so thick skinned; he should be ashamed of himself.
It is irony of the fact that we are too late in vusualizing the problem. There is a need to reduce our daily usages. May be our honey moon with CNG is over. Based on this season consumption,we must be fully ready for next yr. The way out is investing more in expansion of gas pipelines infrastructure to major cities as well as giving other alternatives at reasonable prices. Politicians have to stop making it an issue of life and death and must guide the public about the real facts. And the fact is that we are a poor country which can not afford the luxuries of excessive use of gas. Present government can only be blamed for poor planning. Rest of the rhetoric in the media is unnecessary. Ground reality is this that a country with a population of 180 million can not affort natural gas to each and every citizen.
First goverment should pay all the dues of gas utilizing in goverment own building, rest houses etc. Once Gas Companies will received huge stuck money from goverment.. Then Gas companies should explore new gas.
Why always the public is first, why not disconnect GAS Connections of goverment own buildings if dues are not cleared.
The strong media campaign is required for social responsibility to conserve utility consumption, to identify theft, to prevent leakages, to replace inefficient generators, geysers and heaters and finally to pay gas bills on time.
A debate how to import gas (IPI, TAPI, LNG) is more feasible (as recommended by Dr. Asim) than to drill and discover gas within country. It is recommended that the imposed cess must be utilized to reduce circular debts or to discovering activities rather than to install LNG Extraction Plant.
Subsidy for domestic and fertilizer and Incentive for Textile and IPPs should immediately be withdrawn to know the real worth of business. Why gas is being misused in inefficient industries through subsidies rather than importing same in cheap rates?
The excessive margin of Rs. 30 per Kilo to CNG Dealer should be rationalized. It was fixed at initial stages when only 10% transport was on CNG to cover their fixed overheads, now almost 70% transport is on CNG, their profit margin reaches 7 times higher.
The CNG Stations should be given an option between two categories, Class-A for Personal Vehicles and Class-B for Transport Sectors. There should be different tariff and different profit margins for both categories. Class B CNG stations must ensure CNG Cylinders certification.
The unnecessary taxes on petrol and diesel should be transferred to CNG to prevent conversion of public transport to CNG. Because both utilities will be imported within years, so the long term strategy is better than to overtax one utility and subsidize another.
I would suggest that the root cause of these issues be addressed and this will remedy the issues themselves. If a corporation was at this stage of ruin they would have sacked the board and look to make amends as a matter of urgency. Let those accountable hold their hands up, step down and make way for those compotent and deserving to get the country and it’s people out of this crisis.
Peace.
step 1
gas should not be given for the purpose of power production.
step 2
for transport purpose in order to discourage private cars good private transport should be provided by the govt
We have a huge crisis on our hands and I believe we are too late to discuss “how to avoid the crises” rather it will be more appropriate to focus ourselves on “how to control and minimize the effects of the crises”. Unfortunately the people are suffering from so many other crises – electricity shortage, inflation, flooding – that they will not be able digest this one that easy. They crises is going to affect many echo systems and I think what we have just seen is a beginning. Shortage of gas means people and industries will look for substitutes and which will lead to a shortage of Petrol, Diesel, Kerosene Oil, wood, Coal, LPG etc. and these shortages will lead to high prices of petrol, diesel, kerosene oil, wood, coal, LPG and will directly affect the people who are already using these as their sole source of energy (who never had privilege of cooking of a gas stove). Government’s import bill will increase as people will consume petrol instead of gas, which means quickly depleting USD reserves, which in turns mees ans pressure on PKR. Declining PKR will have many effects like government may have to borrow more money from IMF, exporters will lose competitive advantage, more inflation etc. etc.
This is a biggest blunder of the present government, and this blunder is going to affect every Pakistani in many ways. So for me the solution is that this government must step down without wasting time. The care taking government should share the exact scale of crisis with the public and the political parties (not in close doors – it should be televised). If political parties believe that any one of them or collectively (an alliance) these issues can be fixed if they come into power – not just a plan commitment but a proper roadmap and plan, with clear milestones and deliverables – then caretaker government must conduct free and fair elections and ensure transition in 90 days.
If all these parties continue to sing the same tune as they use to then at least I have had enough of democracy and military dictatorship – people must be given the right to chose a supreme leader through a referendum. He must have a mandate to chose his own team and fix these issues – all including Army, Judiciary and Media must back him.
For now I think government will have no option but to kill the CNG supplies – but they must do it after ensure supplies of petrol and diesel.
Three pronged strategy may work
First set the priorities right.
Domestic, industrial heating, industries like urea be given preference
CNG should be allowed only for vehicles with certified cylinders. Ban on Public transport with CNG and LPG must be strictly guarded.
Power production through gas is an alien and as such must be gradually removed. Power crisis should not be allowed to creep into energy sector. Until other sources are ready to make cheap power, if gas is supplied it should be supplied to state units. Captive power on gas is an injustice causing harm to overall population to benefit few. In power plants only 35% of energy of gas is converted to usfeul power rest is wasted.
Secondly conserve the gas and increase price. Additional money generated be channeled to development of renewable technologies, subsidy to current makers of geysers to convert to more efficient geysers, development of solar geysers, solar cookers etc.
Thirdly acquire more gas through purchase and exploration.
I think the conservation will help some. Why play cricket in the night under millions of high voltage bulbs? The kids should be reading books or learning stories from the elders. That is how we learned and became street smart.
Now on Thar Coal—it won’t work. The coal is under 600 feet of soil. The cost of it removal is too high for our ecomony. World Bank wants environmental study just to start any poject. We don’t have our own money we have to bag.
Natural gas production can be improved a great deal more if Pakistan encourages horizontal drilling along with hydraulic fracturing in shale formations. This technique has doubled the gas quantity in USA.
I would like to add one thing over here,people are talking of the coal reserves of Pakistan that they are so huge,,,,,let me say that the sulphur content in the Thar coal is so huge that most of it is not suitable for Power generation….I myself being an engineer would ask the Pakistani engineers to come out with some innovation,through which we can generate power even with that high sulphur content of coal and that also at a low cost
Secondly,one of the honorable persons said that we can discover oil and gas in Balochistan without the help of IMF and World Bank,,,My dear brother ,the worldwide success ratio of oil discovery is 1:10,that is you dig 10 wells ,only 1 will be found to be viable for production, and the cost of drilling 1 well goes in millions of US dollars,,,so I think we will have to take help of Foreign donors in this regard….
Comments are welcome
Agitating people angrily say that they have been tolerating their cool engines since long but they cannot bear the scene of their cool cookers. What would be the say of the Government?
Gas scarcity in the country means in-activeness of the Government that must be tackled forthwith, otherwise, people’s sufferings will be more unbearable in addition to multiple of problems on economy etc.
The simplest solution would be to get rid of the present government and their lackeys which are the source of all these deficits. They make declartions from their ivory towers, for example, the PM Gilani made a declaration last year that from the month of March, 2011, there would be no more power deficit and a few days back that this year (2012)would see the end of all these deficits.
1. Stop to sale CNG to public transport till the resolution of problem.
2. Due to prolonged load-shedding, people are running their generators by utilizing gas. Government should take measure against the usage of gas for power generation.
3. Ban on CNG kit imports.
4. Encourage people through media to save gas.
Sir, all your suggestions out of place.
You didn’t mention catch the thieves, do not supply gas to those consumers who don’t pay and ask OGDC and PPL to increase drilling rather than distributing dividend.
All readers encouraged to send their comments on my suggestions
1. Immediately stop sale of CNG to private vehicle owners at CNG stations
2. Start rationing use of CNG to industry and homes (12h for homes, 12h for industry)
3. Switch to use of cylinders for home users
4. Install wireless gas meters to monitor real-time gas usage
5. Supply gas to tax-paying industries only; no taxes, no gas
6. Shut down CNG stations for 3 months
Well done! I hope somebody with power and good intentions can listen to this excellent advice. But this government has no will. They need a big KICK!
Why don’t you suggest closing all sorts of bluntness activities!