ISLAMABAD: As prices of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) surged 40-50 per cent in a week, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) launched a crackdown against overcharging marketing companies and dealers of LPG.

Informed sources said the prices of LPG had increased from about Rs130 per kg a fortnight ago to around Rs180 per kg.

Dealers and retailers attributed the surge to reduction in LPG production by Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) and transportation problems arising out of recent floods.

An Ogra spokesman said that the authority had received complaints about overcharging by LPG marketing companies, dealers and retailers and decided that a prompt action be taken as a regulatory intervention.

It decided that violators of published prices and those fleecing the public would be dealt with strict action under the law.

He said the Ogra had dispatched inspection teams to the field to monitor the situation.

According to initial reports filed by the Ogra, enforcement teams that inspected both the marketing companies and the dealers, in the vicinity of Islamabad, certain authorised dealers and distributors were found overcharging on the respective company’s “published price.”

The spokesman explained that under the “deregulated regime of LPG pricing,” the LPG marketing companies are supposed to notify a “published maximum price” and no dealer can charge anything more than that.

Authority has further decided to initiate action against the violators which may entail heavy fines or revocation of marketing licences depending upon the severity of the offence.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2014