Daily News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: All industrial units and CNG stations will remain closed two days a week on a rotation basis in Punjab and the NWFP during winter, according to a gas load management plan approved by the federal cabinet on Wednesday.
The special meeting of the cabinet held with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in the chair decided that CNG stations would remain closed for eight days a month in zones to be defined by the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd (SNGPL).
The decision was taken to overcome the shortage of natural gas, demand for which surges sharply in Punjab and the NWFP during winter.
Gas supply to CNG stations will remain suspended in the Lahore region on the first two days of the schedule. The Lahore region of SNGPL covers all areas from Kasur to Sheikhupura.
CNG stations will remain closed on day 3 and 4 in the Islamabad region, which includes Jhelum, Attock, Murree and Rawalpindi districts.
The shutdown plan in Gujranwala and Peshawar regions will be enforced on day 5 and 6.
The Gujranwala region includes Muridke, Kamoki, Sialkot, Sarai Alamgir and highways.
The Peshawar region covers all parts of the NWFP, except the Hazara division. Gas will not be supplied to CNG stations in Multan, Abbottabad, Faisalabad and Bahawalpur regions on seventh and eighth day.
An SNGPL official told Dawn that tentative date for implementing the plan was Nov 15 and it would continue till March 15 next year. He said that through the plan the company expected to save 25mmcfd of gas.
The CNG sector has rejected the plan. All Pakistan CNG Association chairman Gyas Paracha said the industry had not been taken into confidence on the gas load management plan.
‘It is an impractical decision which will only affect consumers,’ he said, adding that the association would protest against the decision.
Industrial sector
Lahore has been divided into two zones. Faisalabad and other districts of central Punjab have been placed in zone three and Multan, Gujranwala, Peshawar and Abbottabad are in zone four of the schedule.
The textile sector in Punjab has sought 300mmcfd gas to meet export orders, but the government has pledged 200mmcfd for export-oriented industries during winter.
According to government estimates, SNGPL will face a shortage of 1.10 billion cubic feet of gas per day in January.
‘Domestic geysers and heaters alone consume around 400mmcfd and 350mmcfd of gas, respectively, from November to March,’ an official of the petroleum ministry said.