The News reported that the regular shortage of the liquefied petroleum gas in residential sector along with its frequent price variations at consumer level has posed a serious question on the government’s policy to utilize petroleum gas in the transport sector.

CNG industry people said that the sector with its disorganized infrastructure and complex supply chains result in negative impact on the prices that normally stay over PKR 150 per kilogram in the peak winter season.

On the other hand, the LPG is at present facing shortage domestically to cater to the local demand mainly for households and commercial sector. In this regard, the high quantity imports of fuel gas are required which is turn will be costlier than its local supply.

A CNG association representative said that “Therefore, the uniformity in LPG prices is impossible even after several attempts of Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority in the past to maintain price level affordable.”

Recently, the authority again tried to control retail prices of imported LPG at PKR 96 per kilogram which was ignored by importers who suspended supplies. Adding fuel to fire, the consumers are at the mercy of local distributors and retailers who get opportunity to jack up LPG prices on the shortage of supplies particularly in the month of Ramadan.

According to reports, stocking of LPG is in full swing to push its retail prices to maximum level while creating demand through supply shortage. Energy experts are of the view that government was not likely to manage the huge supplies to transport sector in the scenario when the government had failed to ensure petroleum gas to small domestic sector which constituted only 10% of the overall market.

Neither the OGRA could regulate local marketers and distributors nor it could handle importers of a small market of LPG business industry officials said. They suggested to the government that it should not derail the system of energy industry and avoid implementing its ill conceived plan of replacing CNG with LPG in the best interest of consumers and industry stakeholders. They added that CNG sector was well organized and it’s a bigger sector than LPG which need not to be disturbed in order to avoid any distortion in transportation and business cycles.

Source - The News

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