SAHIWAL: Residents have been facing an unexpected surge in gas loadshedding, lasting 16-18 hours, for the last week.

They complained that they saw a threefold increase in gas bills compared to the average amounts paid in the previous year.

Department officials, however, claim that gas is available each day: morning, noon, and evening, but consumers rejected their claims.

Humera of Tariq Bin Ziyad Colony said they were already struggling with price hike of kitchen and grocery items and now the gas bill was breaking all previous records.

Complaints from residents in Jahaz Ground, Railway Road, Scheme No 2 and 3, City UC 6, and various other areas include gas pressure dropping significantly after just 5-10 minutes of use.

Zaheer from Scheme No 2 said they had to resort to LPG cylinders due to the gas shortage, with the 12 kg gas cylinder reaching a cost of Rs3,650. He said there is a scarcity of gas even during the supposed morning and evening supply.

Basir Ahmed, regional manager of the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited, said there is gas shortage issue, and that each division in Punjab is allocated a quota. He said Sahiwal’s quota is set at Rs5 million cubic feet, although the demand stands at around 6.5 million cubic feet. Despite consumer complaints, Ahmed denied any irregularities and insisted that gas is indeed supplied in the morning, noon, and at dinner time.

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2024