On Wednesday evening, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) issued a notification regarding gas prices, dividing consumers into 12 protected and non-protected groups.
Protected category: According to the notification, the authority has set the price for gas in the “protected category” at Rs121 per Million British Thermal Unit (MMBTU) for domestic customers who use up to 0.25 hm3 (in cubic hectometers) of gas per month; Rs. 150 per MMBTU for users with 0.5 hm3 or less; Rs200 per MMBTU for up to 0.6 hm3 consumption; and Rs. 250 per MMBTU for volumes up to 0.9 hm3.
Customers would “pay a fixed charge of Rs50/- (less Meter Rent Rs40),” it stated. This group includes domestic users whose average gas consumption during the last four winter months, from November to February, was less than or equal to 0.9 hm3 per person.
It stated that the minimum charges would be Rs172.58 per month and that “the billing mechanism will be revised so that the benefit of one previous/preceding slab is available to domestic consumer (residential use).”
In the “non-protected category,” OGRA would charge Rs 200 per MMBTU of gas for consuming up to 0.25 hm3 per month, Rs 300 per MMBTU for consuming up to 0.6 hm3, Rs 400 per MMBTU for consuming up to 1 hm3, Rs 600 per MMBTU for consuming up to 1.5 hm3, Rs 800 per MMBTU for consuming up to 2 hm3, Rs 1,100 per MMBTU for consuming
“Category with no protection: includes domestic customers other than those in a protected category,” OGRA made the definition clear.
OGRA has fixed all off-takes at a flat rate of Rs1600 per MMBTU, with a minimum charge of Rs3,900 per month, for all government and semi-government offices, hospitals, clinics, maternity homes, government guest houses, Armed Forces Messes, Langars, private educational institutions, orphanages, and other charitable institutions, as well as hostels and residential colonies that receive gas through bulk meters, including Captive Power.
The authority set the price of gas for sale in the Special Commercial (Roti Tandoors) category at Rs110 per MMBTU for consumption of up to 1 hm3, Rs220 per MMBTU for consumption of up to 2 hm3, and Rs700 per MMBTU for consumption of more than 3 hm3, with a monthly minimum charge of Rs148.50.
The authority has set all off-takes in the commercial sector at a fixed rate of Rs1,650 per MMBTU for all establishments that are registered as commercial units with local authorities or that deal in consumer goods for direct commercial sales. Examples of these establishments include cafes, bakeries, milk shops, tea stalls, canteens, barber shops, laundries, hotels, including the hotel industry, malls, places of entertainment like cinemas, clubs, theaters, private offices, and corporate firms, among others These have a minimum monthly cost of Rs6,415.
All off-takes for ice factories have been set at Rs1,650 per MMBTU, with monthly minimum charges of Rs6,415.
All off-takes have been determined at a flat rate of Rs1,200 per MMBTU for all consumers engaged in processing industrial raw material into value-added finished products, regardless of the volume of gas consumed, with the exception of those industries for which a separate rate has been prescribed. This applies to the industrial sector as a whole. The monthly minimum charges for this industry are Rs 35,540.
All off-takes for Captive Power Plants (General Industry) have been set at a flat rate of Rs1,200 per MMBTU, with monthly minimum charges of Rs36,653.
The authority set a flat rate of Rs1,100 per MMBTU for all off-takes for export-oriented general industry, with a minimum monthly charge of Rs27,616. On the other hand, the authority set a flat rate of Rs1,100 per MMBTU for export-oriented captive power plants, with a minimum monthly charge of Rs28,729.
The CNG industry would pay for all offtakes at a flat rate of Rs1,805 per MMBTU, with a monthly minimum charge of Rs46,229, and the cement industry would pay Rs1,500, with a monthly minimum charge of Rs45,588.
Nearly all off-takes for fertilizer companies have been fixed at Rs510 per MMBTU for gas used as feedstock and Rs1,500 per MMBTU for gas used as fuel for electricity, steam, and housing colonies.
However, Engro Fertilizer Company Limited will pay Rs1,500 per MMBTU for gas used as fuel for the generation of electricity, steam, and housing colonies, as well as $0.70 per MMBTU for all off-takes at a flat rate.
Power sector: For WAPDA and KESC’s power stations, all off-takes have been set at a fixed rate of Rs1,050 per MMBTU, with monthly minimum charges of Rs28,898.
All offtakes at WAPDA’s Gas Turbine Power Station in Nishatabad, Faisalabad, would be fixed at Rs975,000 per month, with a flat rate of Rs1,050 per MMBTU.
All offtakes for Independent Power Producers (IPPs) have been set at Rs1,050 per MMBTU, with monthly minimum charges of Rs28,898.
All offtakes would be available to Independent Power Producers at a flat rate of Rs824 per MMBTU, with a monthly minimum charge of Rs21,209.88.
