IF the recommendations of Ogra, the oil and gas sector regulator, can be so easily brushed aside by a forum like the Economic Coordination Committee, then one may well wonder why we bother having regulators in the first place.

The ECC is not some apex policymaking body and its powers to override the regulator’s recommendation should be used sparingly and in extreme circumstances. But that is not what happened during the last ECC meeting on Tuesday, when four of Ogra’s determinations with regard to pricing of various components of Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas were overturned.

The ECC simply told Ogra to allow higher terminal charges, a higher standard for passing through cost of gas losses to consumers, a charge applied by the Sui Southern Gas Company and a cess by the Sindh government.

It is hard to attach a rupee cost to the increase in the price of RLNG that will result, but it is safe to say that the hike will be substantial.

What is perplexing about this is how late it is happening in the entire RLNG saga. These matters ought to have been sorted out more than a year ago, and certainly long before the gas started to flow.

Having announced with great jubilation that they have arranged for additional gas supplies for the country at the cheapest rates, the government is now making dubious use of the powers of the ECC to cause the price to creep upwards by a significant margin.

The consequences will be felt by industry and consumers alike — they are basically being told that the benefits of the cheaper fuel do not belong to them. The finance minister, who presided over the ECC meeting where the decisions were made, should be asked to furnish further details about the need to override Ogra.

Parliament is the right forum to raise these questions. Specifically, the minister should be asked to provide an estimate of the impact that these decisions will have on end-use price.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2016