ISLAMABAD: The government is likely to once more increase the tariffs for power and gas and prices of petroleum products during the month of December, official sources told Pakistan Today on Monday.
The prices of petroleum products are likely to go up by Rs 3 to Rs 5 per litre for the month of December, sources said.
However, they said that the increase in international petroleum prices would be less this time, as compared to last month, when petroleum products’ prices increased by nine percent, due to the exchange rate. This month the average exchange rate remained Rs 85.6 per US $1 as compared to Rs 86.1 recorded during the last month.
The prices’ trend in the international oil market of petroleum products during November showed a rising trend as compared to the last month of October. The average price of Kerosene remained $95.61 per barrel in November as compared to $92.38 per barrel in October.
Similarly, rising trend was also observed in the prices of high-speed diesel (HSD) and petrol. Last time, the average international price of HSD was $90.88 per barrel whereas this month it had been raised to $94.19 per barrel. In case of petrol, the average price for last month was $87.33 per barrel whereas in the current month it has been raised to $90.38 per barrel.
OGRA, sources said, would also revise upwards the prices of natural gas in the next few days on the tariff petitions of the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL). SSGCL has sought an increase of Rs 28 per unit and the SNGPL of Rs 40 per unit. The increase in gas prices would be effective from January 1, 2011.
The government has already made a commitment to the International Financial Institutions (IFI), under which the power tariff was to be increased by two percent every month to eliminate the difference between the applied and determined tariff.
Under this mechanism, the power tariff for the month of December would also go up by two percent. The National Electricity Power Regulatory Authority would also revise the tariff upwards for distribution and generation companies if the prices of petroleum products increase.
The price increase in oil, gas and electricity tariffs is likely to push up the inflation rate, which was estimated at 9.5 percent in the federal budget but has been subsequently revised to 14.5 percent. The cost of industrial production is also expected to rise due to higher electricity and gas tariffs.
