ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s two state-owned gas companies — Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGC) — have requested significant increases in prescribed gas prices for fiscal year 2025-26, citing a combined shortfall exceeding Rs77 billion due to rising operational costs, imported gas expenses, and system losses.
Both utilities submitted their petitions to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) for review of their estimated revenue requirements and prescribed prices for the upcoming fiscal year.
SNGPL Seeks Rs189 per MMBTU Increase
SNGPL, which supplies gas to Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has demanded a Rs189 per million British thermal units (MMBTU) hike, proposing to raise its average prescribed price to Rs1,955.50 per MMBTU from the current Rs1,766.50. The company projected a revenue shortfall of Rs52.96 billion, primarily driven by higher RLNG costs, operating expenditures, and depreciation.
SSGC Proposes Rs125 per MMBTU Hike
Meanwhile, SSGC, which serves Sindh and Balochistan, has sought a Rs125.41 per MMBTU increase, pushing its average prescribed price to Rs1,783.96 per MMBTU from Rs1,658.55. The company reported a projected shortfall of Rs24.05 billion, attributing it to increased gas purchase costs, depreciation, and financial charges.
The southern utility also claimed an additional Rs34.25 billion (Rs178.59 per MMBTU) in previous years’ unrecouped shortfalls. This brings the aggregate prescribed price claim to Rs1,962.55 per MMBTU.
Hearings Scheduled in November
Both petitions were filed on October 15, 2025, under Section 8(2) of the Ogra Ordinance, 2002, and Rule 4(3) of the Natural Gas Tariff Rules, 2002. Ogra will hold public hearings next month — on November 7 in Lahore for SNGPL and November 11 in Karachi for SSGC — to assess the justification for the proposed tariff adjustments.
The regulator has also invited stakeholders, consumers, and the public to submit feedback and intervention requests before the hearings.
Justifications and Implications
SNGPL’s petition includes RLNG diversion costs to domestic consumers and a subsidy of Rs2.08 per MMBTU for its LPG AirMix project, estimating RLNG service costs at Rs316.64 per MMBTU. Similarly, SSGC has incorporated a subsidy of Rs13.48 per MMBTU and RLNG service costs of Rs57.87 per MMBTU.
Both utilities maintained that the price hike is inevitable to recover the rising cost of gas, linked to international crude and fuel oil prices under federal agreements with gas producers.
If approved, the proposed hikes are expected to further burden households and industries, already grappling with inflation and record-high energy tariffs.
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