Gas supply remains suspended in Faisalabad for third consecutive day

The gas supply to 600 industrial units and 380 CNG stations remained suspended for three consecutive days, on Saturday, as a result a large number of industrial workers most of them daily wagers became jobless for three days. Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) authorities pointed out the gas loadshedding will remain continued till Sunday (today) 6am.
Commenting over the present situation, Chaudhry Salamat Ali, Chief Co-ordinator & former Chairman, Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PHMEA) North Zone said that the short supply of energy along with high tariff and unfavourable conditions for doing businesses are major reasons behind decline in textile exports, as the value-added industry has been denied gas supply for 130 days during 2011 against much lesser days than previous year.
He also expressed grave concern over the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) in which Gas tariff increased for SNGPL by Rs 43.93 (14 percent) per million cubic feet (mmbtu) and for Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) by Rs 34 (11 percent) per mmbtu. More than 100 percent increase in tariff of electricity and gas bills during a couple of the years is yielding negation impact on the textile industry's growth.
He pointed out that if full production capacity is used, the national exports would increase to $25 billion. He asked the government to take urgent steps to solve energy crisis, improve its Energy Management Plan for the textile industry to save millions of people from hunger.