ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Committee criticised the petroleum ministry and gas utility companies on Saturday for not protecting the consumers’ interests and asked the ministry to submit proposals for a new gas pricing formula within 15 days.

Presiding over a meeting of the committee at the Parliament House, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan of the PML-N said the system of calculating gas bills had provided utility companies a chance to fleece consumers and the petroleum ministry was not doing enough to check the excessive billing, “especially by the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines”.

“I am in touch with the authorities and new suggestions by the ministry will be discussed with the prime minister,” PAC chairman Chaudhry Nisar told Petroleum Secretary Kamran Lashari.

Ogra informed the committee that the new system, which had seven slabs, was the main reason for inflated gas bills and recommendations against the system had been forwarded to the government.

The committee also discussed operational matters of SNGPL and Chaudhry Nisar said the company was sending bills based on two, three and even four months reading which ultimately increased the pricing slab and consumers were receiving inflated bills.

The committee was informed that SNGPL received about 700 complaints daily and SSGC about 20. The committee reproached the SNGPL over a reply submitted by it to the PAC over high percentage of provisional bills. The company has of late been sending clubbed bills of around three months to consumers.

The SNGPL reply said that out of its 375,000 consumers, around 25 per cent were receiving combined bills because of various reasons.

Riaz Fitana, a member of the committee, read out the reply which cited some key reasons hindering regular meter readings. These are: dog in front of the meter, growth of bush, water in the meter and awkward positioning of meters.

Fitana said the present SNGPL managing director Rashid Lone was on eighth-year extension and during this period gas theft of Rs 62 billion had been recorded. He said SNGPL was nearing bankruptcy and because of lack of liquidity it wanted to utilise Rs10 billion from Rs16 billion pension and provident funds of its employees to complete its ongoing projects.

The PAC set up a six-member sub-committee, headed by Zahid Hamid and comprising members from the private sector, to look into the affairs of SNGPL.

Chaudhry Nisar also asked the Auditor General to investigate the alleged embezzlement of funds by the SNGPL chief. The AGP has been asked to inform the committee about legal status of business venture by SNGPL in Algeria without an approval by government.

SNGPL MD Rashid Lone, who attended the meeting, denied the allegations and said the approval for overseas venture had been given by the board of the company.