PM orders winter gas load management plan

According to Business Recorder, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed authorities to prepare a detailed plan for managing gas supplies through the coming winter. At a meeting he chaired on Tuesday, officials were told to act early so that supply stays uninterrupted, with household users placed first for locally produced gas. The premier also asked that all steps be taken to keep imports of gas flowing, given the regional situation.

A public awareness drive is planned to encourage households to switch to other energy sources for tasks that can be shifted away from local gas. Officials put forward a bank financing idea for power-run heaters used to warm water and rooms, aiming to shift more homes toward electricity and ease pressure on gas during peak winter demand. Imported RLNG will go first to power plants and factories, while local gas mainly serves homes.

Present at the meeting were Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik and several other ministers and senior officials. The government is preparing its winter energy strategy while balancing domestic gas needs against power and industrial demand.