The Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), which supplies natural gas in Sindh and Balochistan, has fixed three daily periods when domestic consumers will receive piped gas this winter. Households will get supply from 6:30am to 9am, from 12pm to 2:30pm, and from 6pm to 9pm, the company said, in line with federal government directives that put cooking-hour availability first.
An SSGC spokesperson said on Wednesday that the SSGC winter gas schedule takes effect immediately and is meant to prioritise household use during meal times. The utility also posted the timings on its website and social media, saying domestic convenience remains a priority under the winter plan.
Same cooking windows in the north
Separately, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) has started gas load management for domestic consumers in Islamabad, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from Wednesday. The northern utility’s slots match SSGC’s: breakfast from 6:30am to 9am, lunch from 12pm to 2:30pm, and dinner from 6pm to 9pm.
SNGPL linked the curbs to dwindling liquefied natural gas (LNG) — imported gas used to top up domestic supply — and rising winter demand. The government is prioritising household consumption while supplies remain tight, according to the northern utility’s load-management measures.
Industry and CNG also face cuts
As part of broader load management, SNGPL has reduced gas to the compressed natural gas (CNG) sector from 50 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) to 35 mmcfd, with plans to suspend CNG supplies completely in the coming days. The cement industry has already moved to coal for energy, and industrial users on the distribution network are also seeing lower supplies.
SSGC is one of Pakistan’s main gas utilities, transmitting and distributing fuel across Sindh and Balochistan. Households on its network have for years lived with limited, not round-the-clock, availability; the new winter windows formalise when cooking gas should flow.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- Monday: Conflicting supply schedules attributed to SSGC circulated on social media, adding to public confusion.
- Tuesday: Karachi faced a severe gas shortage; SSGC did not issue a clear, consolidated statement until late Tuesday evening.
- Wednesday: SSGC announced the winter cooking-hour schedule for domestic consumers in Sindh and Balochistan, saying it applies immediately.
- Wednesday: SNGPL began restricting domestic gas in Islamabad, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the same three daily cooking slots.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Is serdi mein gharoon ko piped gas din mein sirf teen waqton par mile gi: subah, dopahar aur shaam ke khane ke hours. Sindh aur Balochistan mein SSGC ne yeh schedule diya hai, aur Islamabad, Punjab aur KP mein SNGPL ne bhi yehi teen slots lagaye hain. Hukumat gharoon ko pehle rakh rahi hai kyunke LNG kam hai aur demand barh gayi hai. CNG stations ko bhi kam gas mil rahi hai, is liye gaari walon ko jaldi changes ka samna ho sakta hai.
