PM Orders Independent Probe into Rs50 Billion Gas Billing Dispute

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered a full, independent investigation into a massive gas billing dispute worth Rs50 billion. The issue involves major industrial and commercial consumers who were hit with sudden, backdated bills for gas they used as far back as 2015.

What’s the Problem?

The core of the dispute centers on Sui Northern Gas Company Ltd (SNGPL), which recently sent revised bills to consumers. The bills are based on new pricing notifications from the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) for the period between April 2015 and June 2022. Key sectors affected include:

• Industrial consumers: Owe Rs14.4 billion

• Power sector: Owes Rs40 billion (which will ultimately be paid by electricity consumers)

• CNG sector: Owes Rs3.8 billion

• Fertilizer sector: Owes Rs2.4 billion

These charges, which total nearly Rs60 billion, include differential gas charges, general sales tax, and late payment fees.

Why Are Consumers Protesting?

The sudden bills have sparked outrage among nearly 3,000 industrial and 1,200 CNG consumers, who claim they have strong legal grounds to fight the charges. Many say they already secured stay orders to avoid these payments in the past. They also argue that since a decade has passed, they can't recover these costs from their customers or pass them on to consumers.

Who is to Blame?

Both Ogra and SNGPL are pointing fingers at each other for the billing errors.

• SNGPL's side: They claim that Ogra originally issued new prices for this time period in late 2024, then pulled them from their website, and finally re-issued them in March 2025. SNGPL says it's simply following the gas sales agreement by billing the difference. They believe Ogra should not be revising rates from so long ago and that it's nearly impossible to collect these old debts.

• Ogra's side: The regulator argues that it has always issued provisional monthly prices and is now simply actualizing them. Ogra states that the gas sales agreement allows for the recovery of these price differences in future bills, not in a single lump-sum payment.

The investigation will be led by former federal secretary Shahid Khan, who will look into the matter and decide how to resolve this complex and costly dispute.