EVER SINCE the shortages of domestic natural gas began to bite almost a decade ago, it has been standard practice for the government to issue a gas allocation schedule for the winter months that prioritises the sectors that rely on this resource.

The idea was to discourage discretionary allocations as the shortages increased, because these create the room for wrangling and possible corruption.

Those sectors, or those enterprises, that are able to secure supplies stand to make a lot of money at the expense of their competitors who have to shoulder the burden of gas load-shedding.

Also read: Plants getting gas at consumers’ expense

In all such exercises of drawing up an allocation schedule, it has been standard practice for domestic consumers to get top priority, with all other sectors coming after.

Every sector that relies on natural gas as an essential fuel or feedstock had compelling arguments for why it should continue receiving the dwindling supply even as the shortages grew. But domestic consumers received priority partly because it was politically expedient, and partly because people come first in any government decision.

Now we have news that some sectors have continued to receive supplies through the winter months even as domestic consumers are shouldering the burden of widespread and prolonged gas shortages as temperatures plummet to near-freezing point across much of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Some fertiliser and power plants are being kept operational, even though in some cases their supply contracts are reportedly only for nine months.

The shortages for domestic consumers have forced many of them to resort to the use of LPG cylinders for cooking and heating instead, causing a boom in the LPG market, segments of which have taken to following the illegal and dangerous practice of decanting the gas into cylinders in small, makeshift workshops located in densely populated neighbourhoods.

This is dangerous and needs to be checked. What also needs to be seen is whether or not the gas allocation schedule is being followed.

There were good reasons to discourage discretionary allocations in the midst of growing shortages, and those reasons are still valid.

The debate over who will and who will not receive continuous supplies over the winter months ought to have ended a long while back. Once the merit order is drawn up, it should be followed to ensure that everybody understands that the rules governing gas allocations will not be bent in the face of pressure.

Published in Dawn, January 26th, 2016