ISLAMABAD (The Thursday Times) — The government has moved the power to set liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices from the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority to state-owned companies, led by Pakistan State Oil and Sui Southern Gas Company, in an overhaul meant to end overcharging and illegal sales.
Under the new arrangement, the state companies will import LPG and set a benchmark price based on import costs. Imported cargoes have reportedly been ordered, with the first vessels expected to arrive next week.
OGRA will not leave the sector altogether. It is expected to keep monitoring the market, oversee the auction framework, and deal with pricing and compliance complaints.
What changes for buyers
According to the Petroleum Ministry, all distributors and retailers will have to sell LPG at the officially notified rate, and anyone charging more will face immediate action. LPG will be sold only through authorised outlets and pumps.
The government also plans a cylinder exchange system to cut the number of cylinder blasts. Instead of having their own cylinders refilled at shops, buyers will hand over an empty cylinder and receive a filled one.
LPG will be supplied only in standard cylinders made by OGRA-approved companies, including small two-, three-, and five-kilogramme sizes. Shops caught filling unapproved or defective cylinders face sealing and heavy fines.
Rana Abdul Jabbar, secretary general of the LPG Distributors Association, said dealers would cooperate if the government supplied standard cylinders to retailers at subsidised rates. He asked the authorities to return pumps and equipment seized during the crackdown instead of destroying them.
After a price spike
The changes follow a sharp rise in LPG prices after supplies through the Iran border were disrupted, with prices reaching as much as Rs800 a kilo in some areas and squeezing rickshaw drivers who run on the fuel. The government had already said it wanted to end OGRA’s monthly LPG price notifications.
