LAHORE: The petroleum ministry has reportedly decided to impose a ban on new gas connections, according to ministry sources.
They said the restriction will apply to both domestic and commercial users. Earlier, the government had lifted the ban in October last year to deal with long-standing energy supply issues.
Sources explained that new connections were being issued on Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG), which is much more expensive than regular gas, resulting in bills around four times higher than previous connections.
They added that the demand note fee for a connection was increased from Rs6,500 to Rs23,500. In addition, consumers were paying another Rs25,000 for priority installation.
Overall, a new RLNG-based gas connection costs nearly Rs50,000.
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The federal government had already decided that all new gas connections would be based on imported RLNG, which carries higher costs compared to earlier natural gas supplies.
According to sources, RLNG pricing is linked to international crude oil rates, making it more expensive for consumers.