KARACHI, Feb 27: The Sui Southern Gas Company earned an additional Rs20 million in January owing to the recent implementation of a change in the billing mechanism.

Well-placed sources told Dawn on Wednesday that the SSGC had earned the extra sum last month because it had sold natural gas based on its heating value and not on its volume.

They said the SSGC had sold 258 million cubic metres of natural gas in January. In terms of its heating value, the gas company had sold 8.96 million Million British Thermal Unit natural gas in January.

“If the gas company had sold this amount of gas by the cubic metre (volume) — as it used to up until Dec 2001 — it would have earned Rs1.29 billion. Due to the change in the billing mechanism, enforced by the government effective from Jan 1, the SSGC sold natural gas by the Million British Thermal Unit and earned Rs1.31 billion.”

SSGC officials insisted that the nearly two per cent rise in revenue was not fixed. “The two per cent increase in SSGC revenue was a result of the mixing of natural gas from different gas fields. It is two per cent this month. It could be one per cent next month. It will vary from season to season, condition to condition and requirement to requirement.”

They added that those consumers the heating value of whose gas supply was more than 950 British Thermal Units would pay more than what they had been paying previously. By the same token, those consumers the heating value of whose gas supply was less than 950 British Thermal Units would pay less than they had been paying previously.

Insiders told Dawn that gas bills in the Bin Qasim area had risen by seven per cent, in the Pakistan Steel Mills area by over nine per cent, in Federal B. Area by 0.7 per cent (almost unchanged) and the West Wharf area, which included SITE, by 0.3 per cent (also unchanged). They added that gas bills in the Hub area had decreased by 2.5 per cent and in Korangi and Landhi by one per cent.

The SSGC officials explained that since March 2000 the company had been receiving gas from the Zamzama field whose heating value — which was also referred to as calorific value in technical parlance — was less than the heating value of gas from the Sui field. As a result, the average heating value of the gas mix had lowered, eliciting squeals of protest from consumers, especially the industrial ones, who complained that their monthly bills had gone up.

According to an SSGC presentation report, the calorific value of the Zamzama gas field is 808 British Thermal Units, Sui gas field is 984 British Thermal Units, Hassan gas field 652 British Thermal Units, Kadanwari gas field 985 British Thermal Units and Badin 1,089 British Thermal Units.

The SSGC officials said the reason why gas bills had risen in Hyderabad by and large was that Hyderabad was provided natural gas from the Badin gas field whose heating value was far higher than the benchmark of 950 British Thermal Units fixed by the government.

“It should not be said that the SSGC now earns more because of the recently enforced change in billing mechanism. Actually, under the directives of the government, the SSGC no longer offers the incentive to its consumers that it used to when it was selling natural by the cubic metre (volume).”