Employers’ Federation of Pakistan applauds the Government’s decision to rationalize natural gas supply for domestic consumption as the country faces a severe shortage of gas supply in this upcoming winter season.
Ours is one of the countries which are highly dependent on natural gas in terms of domestic consumption.
Considering that natural gas and LNG make up over 40% of the country’s energy mix, a plan of action for smooth supply of gas to industries must be formulated, said President EFP, Ismail Suttar in a statement here on Tuesday.
He emphasized that the government’s primary goal should be to permanently eliminate the use of natural gas for domestic use. Pakistan has to import natural gas to meet energy needs and thus such high levels of consumption by the domestic sector negatively affects the country’s balance of payments position. Ismail Suttar was of the view that recently, the price of natural gas has been surging worldwide due to limited availability.
The crisis has worsened as Europe has significantly increased its purchasing of natural gas supply from countries other than Russia due to ongoing the Russia-Ukraine conflict. This has further created a crisis in the energy markets as supply is depleting while the prices of energy are increasing.He said that the EFP strongly supports the decisions on governments level to I prioritize the industries.
“Smooth supply of energy to industries is crucial for the economy to progress forward,” he said adding that delays and interruptions in the supply of gas leads to several drawbacks and delays for businesses to operate and thus increases the complexity and cost of doing business in Pakistan.
He was of the view that the government must gradually implement policies to convert the country’s domestic sector gas consumption into alternative.
