PAC grills SSGC over Rs 80 billion gas losses, Rs 16 billion uncollected cess

Profit reported that the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) questioned Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) officials on Thursday about Rs80 billion in UFG losses and Rs16 billion in uncollected Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC). The committee, led by Syed Naveed Qamar, was reviewing audit objections linked to the Petroleum Division's accounts for FY2024-25. Auditor General of Pakistan officials raised the UFG objection, and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) had set targets for those losses.

Members questioned the regulator's absence and sought data on Balochistan, where supply stood at 120 million cubic feet per day and losses topped 36%. Officials said efforts to cut losses were under way and some improvement had been seen, though members observed that flows had halved. The PAC deferred the UFG matter and asked the Petroleum Division to reconcile audit figures and satisfy the auditors before settlement.

On the Rs16 billion GIDC, audit officials said no stay order covered the amount at that point, while the company said payments came from customers not in litigation. Members cited a Supreme Court direction to recover the sum, asked which legal steps had been taken, and deferred the matter. Separately, K-Electric was named by Senator Afnanullah Khan as SSGC's largest defaulter, with Rs30 billion in dues going back to early 2012. SSGC reported Rs2.3 billion recovered from disconnected defaulters, while Rs123.6 million was lost to gas taken through six fake meters.