Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) has announced a winter gas load-shedding schedule for domestic consumers in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, introducing three fixed supply windows per day from December to February.
Under the new plan, households will receive gas from 5:30am to 8:30am, 11:30am to 1:30pm, and 5:30pm to 8:30pm.
Officials advised consumers to prepare meals within these designated hours. They added that industries remain exempt from load-shedding and claimed that although demand has surged “many times over,” there is no supply shortage in the system.
The announcement follows federal directives issued last month during a meeting chaired by Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervez Malik on winter gas management. Gas utilities were instructed to ensure maximum facilitation for households during the peak season.
At that meeting, managing directors of SNGPL and Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) briefed the minister on nationwide gas availability and the status of new RLNG domestic connections.
Officials said domestic supply this year is “significantly better” than last winter, with SNGPL reporting gas availability beyond mealtimes, from 5am to 10pm in many areas.
Malik stressed that winter supply improvements had been prioritised for public convenience, while OGRA and Petroleum Division officials reviewed overall system pressures and distribution plans.
Gas shortages have remained a recurring concern in recent years, particularly for households, which consume about half of Pakistan’s available supplies. Pakistan holds just 0.4% of global gas reserves but accounts for 1.1% of global consumption, according to Worldometer data.
In November, the government formally began issuing RLNG connections to domestic users, resuming new household gas supplies for the first time since a 2021 ban caused by rapidly depleting natural reserves.
