The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Wednesday recommended scrapping the recently introduced fixed gas meter rent of Rs. 500 per month collected from natural gas consumers.
Chairing the meeting, Public Accounts Committee Chairman Noor Alam Khan said that the fixed charges of Rs. 500 per month are also being collected from customers whose total bill doesn’t exceed Rs. 1,500 per month. He said that the poor simply cannot afford to pay such charges every month and called the charges ‘illegal’.
Secretary Petroleum apprised the committee that the gas tariff was increased with retrospective effect beginning January 1, 2023. He further highlighted that those households, which consume less than 1 cubic hectometers (as per Ogra the threshold is 0.9 cubic hectometers), were not burdened by the increase.
Moreover, the committee directed to restore the issuance of new gas connections for consumers. Khan said that in this regard he will also write a letter to the prime minister.
The PAC Chairman said that he is not concerned about the industry but the general consumers should get gas on a priority basis.
Get the latest business news, market insights, and economic updates wherever you prefer.
Add ProPakistani to Preferred Sources and see more of our stories in Google Search and Top Stories.