Pakistan’s two main gas utilities have announced three daily winter supply windows for household cooking, totalling eight hours, with Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited’s restrictions starting on Wednesday.
Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) confirmed that its schedule covers Sindh and Balochistan, a spokesperson told Dawn. Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) serves the affected households in Islamabad, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Both schedules specify the following daily timings:
- Breakfast: 6:30am to 9am.
- Lunch: Noon to 2:30pm.
- Dinner: 6pm to 9pm.
SSGC said it was prioritising domestic cooking requirements under federal government instructions. It advised consumers to plan meal preparation around the announced hours.
For information or complaints, SSGC consumers can contact the company’s helpline on 1199.
Separately, SNGPL has introduced its load-management arrangements as declining liquefied natural gas (LNG) availability and rising winter demand constrain supplies.
Household consumption takes priority over other sectors under the winter arrangements.
SNGPL has reduced supplies to the compressed natural gas (CNG) sector from 50 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) to 35 mmcfd, a cut of 15 mmcfd. It plans to suspend supplies to that sector in the coming days, although the account gives no firm date.
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Industrial consumers on the distribution network also face reduced allocations, while the cement industry has switched to coal.
Industries that draw gas directly from the transmission network currently receive approximately 200 mmcfd. That allocation covers both export-oriented and non-export industries, and further reductions remain possible.
Current allocations stand at approximately 140 mmcfd for the power sector and 53 mmcfd for the fertiliser industry.
