The Sui Southern Gas Company Ltd. (SSGCL) has sought to increase its prescribed prices by Rs392 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) with effect from July 1 in order to make up its estimated Rs98 billion revenue shortfall for 2023–2024. This comes after a significant increase in natural gas consumer prices.
On Thursday, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) announced that the petition for a public hearing had been approved.
According to the report, the Karachi-based corporation predicted that it needed Rs 266 billion in overall revenue for the upcoming fiscal year, but that its sales revenue at the current recommended price would only bring in Rs 168 billion. Hence, an increase in the authorized price at a rate of Rs392 per unit was required to close the remaining shortfall of Rs98 billion.
The company also stated that losses in the supply of RLNG (Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas) during the upcoming fiscal year would result in an additional shortfall in income of roughly Rs15 billion.
In order to meet the demands of RLNG supplies, it also called for a hike of Rs32.62 per unit in additional prescribed pricing.
To cover the approximately Rs310 billion income shortfall experienced by two gas companies during the current fiscal year, the government has already raised consumer gas rates by as much as 124 percent.
The government must distribute its influence to various consumer categories based on prescribed pricing that Ogra has approved while keeping in mind its sociopolitical interests. According to the law, gas rates for consumers must be updated twice a year.
