ISLAMABAD: Posts circulating on Facebook assert that Pakistan is poised to experience significant gas load shedding this winter, limiting natural gas availability to only eight hours a day.
The viral image includes the logo of the government-owned Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and supposedly displays revised timings for household gas availability. However, this claim is untrue.
Claim
A Facebook user shared an image on November 17 with the caption: “The Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited has issued a new schedule for gas in winter.”
According to the image, the purported schedule indicates that natural gas will be provided to domestic consumers from 6 am to 9 am in the mornings, 11:30 am to 1:30 pm in the afternoons, and 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm in the evenings.
Fact
Despite the post being shared over 17 times and receiving 10 likes at the time of writing, it’s crucial to note that both the state-owned Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGC), responsible for natural gas distribution in the country, have refuted the claim of any new timings for gas supply this winter.
Amjad Ikram, the spokesperson for SNGPL, clarified to a private news channel that there have been no revisions to the schedule for gas load shedding, and specific timings for morning, afternoon, or evening gas supply are inaccurate.
He said, “We shut the gas supply at night, from 10 pm to 6 am, but for domestic consumers only. Gas is available uninterrupted round the clock for the industrial sector.”
SNGPL manages gas supply to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and certain Azad Jammu and Kashmir areas. Salman Siddiqui, Sui Southern Gas Company Limited’s (SSGC) spokesperson, dismissed any new timing assertions.
Siddiqui clarified that his company follows a daily shutdown of gas supply for domestic consumers from 10:30 pm to 5:30 am.
Moreover, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited has refuted these allegations through their official social media platforms.
1/2 گیس صارفین کے لیے اہم اطلاع
سوئی ناردرن نے موسم سرما کے لیے کوئی گیس شیڈول جاری نہیں کیا
الیکٹرونک و سوشل میڈیا میں اس حوالے سے گردش کرنے والی اطلاعات بے بنیاد ہیں pic.twitter.com/BdAuF73jJ6
— SNGPL Official (@SNGPLofficial) October 12, 2023
