March 20, 2003	Thursday	Muharram 16, 1424

PESHAWAR, March 19: The Federal government is likely to effect increase in the gas tariff in the near future as the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) is in the process of determining gas companies’ revenue requirements for the next financial year, according to official sources.

“We have recently received required information from the gas companies and after determining their revenue requirements for the 2003-04 financial year it would be passed on to the federal government for reviewing the gas tariff, if it wants to,” the chairman, Ogra, Mr Munir Ahmed told Dawn.

The Ogra chairman Munir Ahmed and vice chairman Jawaid Inam and two other members of the Authority were in Peshawar on Tuesday to hold a public hearing on the application of Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) for the grant of exclusive integrated license of transmission, distribution and sale of gas in NWFP, Punjab, Fata, Federal Capital and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

The vice chairman of Ogra, while talking to this reporter, also said that the Authority had received documents a few days back for determining gas companies’ revenue requirements for the 2003- 04 financial year.

“The decision to increase the gas tariff is the prerogative of the federal government which would decided the gas tariff,” said a member of the Ogra.

As per the procedure, said the Ogra chairman, the revenue requirement of gas companies for the next financial year would be determined after scrutinising the information provided to the Ogra by all the companies.

The revenue requirements determined so would be submitted to the federal government. “If the government decides to raise the gas tariff, it would ask us [Ogra] to notify the same,” said the Ogra chairman.

However, some of the senior functionaries of the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited, who were also in the provincial capital on Tuesday, last, told this scribe on the understanding of anonymity that increase in the gas tariff was on the cards. “It (increase) is likely to be announced somewhere at the start of the next month,” said a high ranking official of the SNGPL.