Karachi, November 16, 2021 (PPI-OT):President, Employers’ Federation Pakistan, Ismail Suttar, holds on to the belief that the gas crisis in Pakistan will lead to an unsolvable quandary, if not addressed in due time. “The government has always favoured the average domestic majority over the industrial minority with regards to gas consumption. They have stimulated domestic consumption by providing everyday consumers with plentiful ease in exploiting the resource, by means of unreasonable amounts of subsidies, which has increased the load on industrial entities,” he said in a statement.
The EFP president said that the domestic gas usage is going to kill the industry. Govt should plan and get away by supplying gas to the domestic sector and instead cylinders should be used by the household. The wastages incurred at domestic level due to highly subsidized gas prices has, enabled the sector to waste the resource at meagre costs, due to which the already increasing gap between production and consumption of the resource has been augmented. The copious gas pipelines established throughout Pakistan, has further incited this wastage.
“A simple global analysis can bring further clarity to the matter that it is nowhere in the world, that such an infrastructure for gas distribution exists. Many countries since their beginning has not facilitated the domestic sector with such a luxurious gas pipeline based infrastructure, for they have relied either on LPG or on RLNG gas cylinders”, he said, adding that despite the impending crisis, official sources in Pakistan claim that the problem will continue to escalate in the future, that is if no action is taken in due time. Even in more recent times the shortcomings in production and the high rising demands of the winter season has led Pakistan to buy gas supplies from Qatar at peaked up prices.
Ismail further said that the Federal Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar had initially claimed, that the supply of gas will be ensured for the domestic consumers during breakfast, lunch, and dinner hours only amid the major gas shortfall in the country during the winter season.
EFP president believes, that the solution lies in the core of the problem itself, most importantly the government should reconsider their benchmark of subsidies and gas prices to the average domestic consumer, for they are taking the natural deposit for granted. They should keep in view the global and economic conditions of our region before accepting the traditional system of ceaseless domestic gas subsidies.
He was of the opinion that a simple deliberation on the matter, can lead us to realize that the conventional system of gas pipelines is failing and if no action is taken in due time Pakistan would be facing the gas crisis head-on. The consideration and analysis of important entities in this regard will play a very vital role in establishment of sustainable systems that will build the trust of business communities in the region to foster growth and development on their end.
For more information, contact:
Head Office,
Employers Federation of Pakistan (EFP)
2nd Floor, State Life Building 2, Wallace Road Off. I.I. Chundrigar Road,
Karachi – 74000, Pakistan
Tel: +92-21-32412708
Fax: +92-21-32439347
Email: info@efp.org.pk, efp.mediacell@gmail.com
Website: https://efp.org.pk/