President, Employers’ Federation of Pakistan(EFP), Ismail Suttar, has said that the Government of Pakistan should increase the price of gas for domestic consumption. As a country undergoing an economic crisis, the government must seriously take steps to curb wastage of precious gas resources.
In a statement, EFP president said that Pakistan already has a deteriorating Balance of Payments (BOP) position and hence must take strict measures to curb its energy crisis. The biggest wastage of energy resources is through wastage of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in Pakistan. Majority of countries worldwide have adopted using electric powered stoves whereas majority of citizens in Pakistan use gas powered stoves. This makes Pakistan one of the few countries that supplies gas to people’s homes for domestic consumption. All these reasons lead to a huge dependency on gas for Pakistani citizens.
Ismail Suttar stated, “The Government must increase the price of gas for domestic consumption to avoid wastage and should simultaneously decrease the price of gas for industrial consumption. Through this, the government will be able to avoid wastage and provide some much-needed relief to the country’s industrial sector.”
“Pakistan is undergoing a severe energy crisis. The countries most recent bid to import USD 1 Billion in LNG failed to attract any suppliers. Along with a severe energy crisis, the country has also faced surging prices resulting in an estimated 20% rate of inflation”, he said, adding that it is estimated that the domestic sector’s usage of gas is the second biggest gas consuming sector in Pakistan.
Suttar was of the view that due to the gas crisis, Pakistan’s industries are operating at a lower capacity which is directly affecting the country’s exports sector. The Government of Pakistan must not only invest in the exploration of oil and gas fields but should also take steps to conserve energy resources and prioritize industrial gas usage.
As a result, the Employer’s Federation of Pakistan urges the Government to increase the price of gas for domestic consumption so that gas leakages are promptly addressed and thus the country can save on losing valuable energy resources.
“The Employer’s Federation of Pakistan further believes that the use of gas for domestic consumption should be banned and hence Pakistani citizens should be given a deadline to switch to alternative sources of energy. Only source of obtaining gas should be through gas cylinders so that the supply of gas for domestic consumption can be controlled by the Government. This will greatly help in reducing dependency on gas for domestic consumption and thus allow a more efficient usage of gas reserves for industrial use”, he opined.
Furthermore, the Government of Pakistan should formulate a long-term energy strategy whereby steps are taken to adopt more reliable and greener sources of energy such as solar power, hydro-power or wind powered energy generation.
