The federal cabinet in order to save Pakistan State Oil (PSO) from possible default has decided to further burden the gas consumers, It has been learnt on Saturday. According to sources, mark-up on a Rs50 billion loan of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) will now be charged from consumers. The federal cabinet gave approval of guarantee for the Rs50 billion load to be obtained by SNGPL.

The further sources said the loan will pave way for the SNGPL to make payments to PSO in connections with LNG import. Various government institutions owe PSO a record Rs773 billion and the SNGPL is the biggest defaulter with Rs498 billion arrears. According to sources, the federal government had recently hiked gas prices by up to 112 percent, putting an additional burden of Rs310 billion on gas consumers.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP