ISLAMABAD: The Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) on Wednesday said it will carry out independent verification of unaccounted for gas (UFG) loss through audit to conclude whether or not its previous decisions had caused loss to consumers of liquefied natural gas.

“Ogra may also carry out independent verification through UFG audits as has been done in the past”, said the regulator in a statement issued on Wednesday adding that “retrospective adjustments in the light of audit findings are part of determination process”.

The regulator made this announcement after it recently noted through internal workings that it had erroneously been allowing gas companies to charge about 6-7 per cent higher to consumers of Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) for at least five years, resulting in significantly higher rates.

The regulator said RLNG was an optional fuel and its price was to be determined by Ogra as per guidelines issued by the federal government that principally requires RLNG to be ring fenced in order to effectuate full actual cost recovery from respective customer.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2020