January 12, 2003	Sunday	Ziqa'ad 8, 1423

LAHORE, Jan 11: The suspension of gas supply to some 98 industrial units in Punjab by Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd (SNGPL) is said to have hurt export-oriented textile mills the most.

The company has suspended gas supply to at least four captive power plants in Multan and Bahawalpur operated by as many textile mills for uninterrupted power supply.

An All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) spokesman told Dawn on Saturday that gas supply was suspended to all these mills without any prior notice.

“This has certainly impacted upon their capability to cope with the new situation and arrange for alternative source of fuel, affecting their ability to meet their export orders,” the Aptma spokesman said.

The SNGPL has suspended gas supply during the last few days to about 132 industrial consumers in Punjab and the NWFP in order to meet the rising demand of its domestic consumers and condensation of gas in pipes owing to the prevailing cold wave.

The company snapped gas supply to the fertilisers, power, textile and cement manufacturing units on Wednesday. Later, it further cut off supply to scores of general industrial units to improve its supplies to the domestic consumers in the two provinces. The company has about 2,500 industrial consumers in Punjab and the NWFP.

An SNGPL official said the company had to suspend gas supply to the industrial units every year as the demand increases in every winter.

He said the SNGPL supplied gas to industries on a nine-month contract basis and it was provided in the contracts that the consumers would arrange for alternative source of fuel whenever the supply of gas was cut off. “It increases their cost but we cannot help it,” he added.

The official said normally no industrial consumer complained when gas supply was snapped for a few weeks during cold weather as everyone was supposed to have made alternative arrangements to keep their units operative.

“The power plants convert to furnace oil while fertilizer units shut up for their annual turnover during January when the gas supply is suspended. Similarly, the textile mills shift to the Wapda system when gas supply to their captive power plants are stopped as is settled in their contracts with the SNGPL. So it is not justified on the part of anyone to complain or criticize the SNGPL,” the official said.