LPG sells at up to Rs650 a kg, far above OGRA's notified rate
Consumers in Peshawar, Lahore, Quetta and the twin cities are paying 550 to 650 rupees a kilogram against an October reference price of 280, with cylinders above Rs6,000.
Liquefied petroleum gas is being sold at up to 650 rupees a kilogram in Peshawar and other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, more than double the 280 rupees per kilogram notified by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority for October, Express News reported.
Household cylinders in the province are now selling for more than 6,000 rupees, the outlet said, and the district administration has not acted against what it described as arbitrary pricing despite complaints from residents.
Aaj News reported the same top rate nationally, saying LPG was being sold at between 550 and 650 rupees a kilogram in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Quetta and Peshawar, with domestic cylinders above 6,000 rupees. Quoting sources, it put the price in Islamabad and Rawalpindi at 570 to 580 rupees a kilogram. In Quetta, it said, gas was selling at 550 to 600 rupees a kilogram in central areas and 600 to 640 in the suburbs, while Lahore ranged between 550 and 650. It also reported rising prices in Mandi Bahauddin, where daily-wage workers and salaried households said the cost of buying gas at open-market rates had made daily expenses difficult to meet.
The two reports frame the increase differently. Express News presented 650 rupees a kilogram as the highest level reached in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where large areas have no piped gas and households rely on cylinders. Aaj News gave the same figure as the top of a countrywide range that includes Lahore. Neither outlet reported any fresh official notification covering the rates being charged.
Consumers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa face a double burden, both outlets reported: they continue to pay piped-gas bills while buying expensive cylinders during load-shedding, and households in several cities said they were absorbing the extra cost by cutting other spending.
Neither report carried a statement from OGRA, the Petroleum Division or the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on the gap between the notified and market rates, or on any planned enforcement. The figures were attributed to market rates and to sources cited by the two outlets; Skardu Times could not independently verify the prices in each city.
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