The Petroleum Division has submitted a summary to the federal cabinet proposing the removal of the long-standing ban on new gas connections, aiming to allow approximately 120,000 new connections in the first year.
Priority will be given to applicants who had previously received demand notices or paid the emergency fee but could not get connections due to the ban, with plans to increase this number in the following year.
Applicants under this category, totaling around 250,000, will be required to submit a declaration that they will not challenge old claims or increased connection fees in court, ensuring legal clarity for authorities.
Under the proposed scheme, new connection fees will be set between 40,000 and 50,000 rupees, while bills will reflect the imported re-gasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) price, currently estimated at 3,200 rupees per MMBTU.
Officials explained that despite the high cost, RLNG-based piped gas will remain 35 to 40 percent cheaper than domestic liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), benefiting millions of low and middle-income households across the country.
The move is also intended to utilize surplus gas in the network, which otherwise poses risks to pipeline infrastructure and international agreements, while addressing financial losses in the power and gas sectors during the winter months.
Meanwhile, authorities are managing domestic gas supplies carefully, limiting household distribution to six to nine hours daily, and have raised fixed charges by 50 percent to generate additional funds without increasing gas availability.