LAHORE - The dead-lock on LPG price formula between district authorities and gas distributors resolved on Friday with latter agreed to sell it at Rs90 per kg at all city’s sale point.
The district authorities wanted to ensure the sale of LPG at Rs85 per kg.
The 200 members of LPG Distributors’ Association led by vice-chairman Attique Khan after a meeting with DO enforcement Ali Akbar Chopra announced that the liquefied gas will be sold at the Rs90 per kg till the Ogra’s new notification. Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) fix the LPG price every month. The authority is likely to give new price in next week. Attique Khan told The Nation that Ogra is likely to fix countrywide price Rs95 per kg.
“We will sell gas at Ogra fixed price in next week but so far we agree to sale it at Rs90 after meeting with district authorities today,” he said.
The district authorities, keeping in view the high rise in LPG price during winter, were active for more than two weeks against sale points where gas was sold at price more than Rs85 per kg. The enforcement team at least fined 85 sale points for selling gas at high rates.
The LPG distributors had warned to close their businesses if the district government did not stop action against them. The distributors were blaming marketing companies for high price and demanded of the government to ensure cheap supply from the powerful companies to them so that they could sell it at low rates to consumers.
The government over their protest agreed at middle price Rs90 by not accepting LPG distributors’ rate and not by forcing its own rate.
The price of LPG witnesses a sharp rise (from Rs70-80 in summer to Rs130-140 in winter) in every winter due to black marketing, increase in demand-generation gap and some other factors. Consumers even purchased gas at Rs240 per kg during past winter. The demand of Lahore touches from 500 ton per day in summer to 800 per ton in winter. The government this time is determined to keep fixes the LPG price below Rs100 kg during whole winter.