Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) have rejected the 7.1 percent Unaccounted for Gas (UfG) losses proposed by the consultants hired by Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) but agreed on raising the levels from the existing 4.5 percent. On Thursday, Ogra and the two utility companies reviewed the proposed increase in UfG at Ogra office.

The study noted that the current UfG losses of SSGC stood at 13 percent while that of SNGP were 15 percent - higher than the losses reported by the two gas utilities at around 9 to 10 percent respectively. The matter of UfG is under discussion between Ogra and the two gas companies to fix ERR (estimated revenue requirement) for 2017-18, a decision likely in a couple of days, sources said. However Ogra officials reportedly stated that they would take account of the financial impact on consumers if UfG is raised by 2.6 percent - from 4.5 to 7.1.

Sources further revealed that during the meeting, Ogra criticized SNGPL and SSGC for sustained failure to check gas theft and system losses despite repeated instructions by the regulator.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2017