No progress in talks on CNG pricing formula

The new pricing formula for CNG could not be determined on Monday as talks between the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) and CNG Dealers Association ended inconclusively.
Following Supreme Court directions, OGRA Chairman Saeed Ahmed Khan summoned a meeting of all stockholders in Islamabad on Monday to develop consensus over a new pricing formula of CNG. However, the three-hour-long negotiations could not yield any result. On Monday, CNG stations went on an unannounced countrywide strike against the reduced prices of CNG, saying they could not continue sales at the reduced tariff ordered by the Supreme Court. CNG Dealers Association Chairman Abdul Sami Khan said OGRA was not accepting their demands, adding that 90 percent of the filling station owners could not even make the payment of bills to the government, let alone profit. On the other hand, OGRA Deputy Chairman Sabir Hussain said Sui Northern Gas Company had been directed to address the issue of gas shortage. He said the CNG dealers’ suggestions were under consideration. “OGRA will consider all applicable suggestions of the stakeholders that help settle the new pricing formula of CNG per the directions of the apex court,” Hussain added. All Pakistan CNG Association Chairman Ghayas Paracha said he did not give the strike call and the station owners were shutting down filling stations on their own because sales were causing a loss of Rs 12 per kilogramme to them. Paracha said the Supreme Court had asked for a reduction in CNG price by Rs 20 per kilogramme, but the price was cut down by more than Rs 30. He said OGRA should stop blackmailing the dealers and come out clearly on the price issue. In Hyderabad, the station owners also closed down business, saying they could not run a business of loss. In Peshawar as well, gas stations were being shut down to protest the reduced prices. CNG Association’s provincial president Pervez Khattak said they made the decision of their own free will.
Though some owners kept the stations open in respect of Muharram, Monday saw almost all CNG station owners closing down in defiance of the judicial order. Citizens demanded the government take immediate notice of the stations’ closure and resolve the issue by finding an amicable solution. The situation in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Lahore was no different, as owners said that they could not keep selling CNG at the existing price People on the other hand suffered due to the absence of public transport, while rickshaw and taxi drivers kept demanding exorbitant fares by taking full advantage of the situation.