The News reported that Industrialists lash out squeezing of gas supplies to the industries leading to layoff of a large number of workers despite the fact that controlling wastefulness of gas in the domestic sector could save the country a sizeable volume of gas.
Mr Adil Butt chairman Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association demanded of the government to ban the use of gas heaters in offices and residences. Similarly, commercial enterprises like five star hotels, which could shift to liquefied petroleum gas to meet their energy needs, must be cut off from gas supply network.
Mr Adil Butt said that gas outages gave a hard blow to the entire textile chain from processing to sizing resulting in an alarming fall in productivity. It is time that the gas tariff for domestic users increases manifold during winter for additional gas they consume above 6 months average gas consumption in summer.
A source in the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline agreed to the advice of a gas quota for domestic consumers calculated on the basis of their average summery gas consumption. We have the technology to contain gas usage to a certain mark for example when it surpasses 10% of the average consumption. Usage of gas in geysers and gas heaters inhales 800 million cubic feet per day during winter and this should be stopped at all cost.
According to the source, ensuring gas supply to domestic consumers is a populist decision that is stopping gas supply to the manufacturing sector. After decline in temperature the domestic gas consumption increased drastically forcing the institution to resort to suspension of gas supply to the industries.
A spokesman of the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association said that the announcement by SNGPL came as a shock to the industry which was expecting better gas supplies at a time when most of the CNG outlets are closed in the province. It would jeopardize the timely execution of export orders.
He said that the gas distributors should have given priority to the industries at this time of the year when the canal closure in two weeks would reduce hydroelectric production and pump up gas outages to the industries.
