The Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) is currently under fire as residents of Quetta, Balochistan, express their dissatisfaction with a newly announced gas supply schedule that has resulted in severe disruptions to daily life. The schedule permits gas availability for only limited hours, leading to complaints of increased load-shedding from six hours to over 15 hours.
The government has established a National Coordination and Management Council (NCMC) to address the ongoing gas supply crisis, which has been exacerbated by a production shutdown at a 77 million tonnes per annum LNG facility in Qatar. The NCMC has directed Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) to overhaul its domestic demand planning in response to the crisis.
Residents have voiced their frustrations, with one local trader, Kashif Haideri, stating, “A middle-class family is being issued bills ranging from thousands to even lakhs of rupees, yet when it comes to service delivery, the authorities remain indifferent.” This sentiment reflects a broader discontent with the current state of gas supply and management in the region.
Moreover, the Central Traders Organization Balochistan has criticized the extended duration of gas load-shedding, which they describe as “practically unacceptable” and detrimental to everyday activities. The situation has drawn attention to what many see as long-standing neglect and unfair treatment toward Balochistan.
Despite the limited supply, residents have reported soaring gas bills, further complicating the issue. The government has also suspended all new RLNG connections nationwide until supply chains are restored, indicating the severity of the situation.
Prior to the force majeure event, Pakistan had negotiated the diversion or deferral of more than 20 to 29 LNG cargoes scheduled for 2026, which has now become a pressing concern for energy authorities. The NCMC has mandated the immediate allocation of newly offered gas volumes from exploration and production companies to state-run utilities to mitigate the crisis.
As the situation develops, the calculation of additional profit generated by maintaining existing gas tariffs will be submitted to the NCMC for review. Observers are keenly watching how these measures will impact the ongoing supply issues and whether they will lead to improvements for the residents of Quetta and Balochistan as a whole.
Details remain unconfirmed regarding the long-term implications of these decisions and the potential for restoring normal gas supply levels in the region.