March 01, 2007	Thursday	Safar 11, 1428

LAHORE, Feb 28: The Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) on Wednesday suspended supplies to around 50 industrial units, thus saving some 60 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd).

According to officials, supplies to 11 cement units is already suspended to save 55mmcfd. The total shortage stands at 115mmcfd.

They said sudden fall in temperature had created an extraordinary situation for the company. Last Sunday, the company had a surplus supply of over 100mmcfd, which it provided to Wapda, but the late Monday shower caused a substantial dip in mercury, putting an additional pressure on supplies to meet the domestic consumers' needs.

According to metrological forecasts, weather will improve in a day or two, enabling the company to restore supplies to these industrial units, they said.

An official of the All-Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) took strong exception to sudden suspension of supplies, saying the SNGPL was under contractual obligation to supply uninterrupted supply of gas from March 1 to Nov 30.

If suspension goes beyond Wednesday mid-night, which in all probability would happen, it would be a violation of contractual obligation. The association was considering initiating legal options, should that happen, he said.

Commenting on the violation of contractual obligations, a spokesman for the SNGPL said the contract with these industrial units also includes another clause which stated that suspension could be extended beyond three months to bridge supply and demand gap.

The contract also states that supplies would be made as and when available. So, there is no legal problem for the company. But, it was our duty to supply gas to consumers and industry was a natural priority, he claimed.