Cabinet okays up to 67pc hike in gas tariff

The federal cabinet on Thursday approved a 67 per cent increase in the natural gas tariff with effect from Feb 1, apparently to meet the revenue requirement of the gas utilities targeted for the current year. According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the cabinet meeting presided over by caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar approved all decisions of the Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet, including the decision to spike gas tariff. Later, the Petroleum Division issued a notification regarding an increase in gas prices and the government met a deadline of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to share the notification before Feb 15. As per the notification, for consumers using up to 0.25 hundred cubic metres (hcm), the new tariff is Rs200 per mmbtu, which is an increase of 66 per cent; for up to 0.5hcm consumers the new rate is Rs250/mmbtu, a 67 per cent increase.