Pakistan Gas Crisis Forces Families to Use Firewood

Families in Rawalpindi are returning to firewood, coal, and kerosene to meet their cooking needs as natural gas is only available for six hours a day. According to The Express Tribune, households are increasingly using cheaper alternatives such as discarded furniture wood and sawdust.

LPG cylinder prices have surged, with a new domestic cylinder now selling for PKR13,500, up from PKR10,000. Refill charges have also risen, from PKR3,000 to PKR5,000, while commercial refills have nearly doubled to PKR25,000.

Firewood and coal prices have climbed, with dry firewood selling for PKR1,500 to PKR1,800 per maund, and ordinary firewood for PKR1,300 to PKR1,400 per maund. Coal is priced between PKR800 and PKR1,000 per maund, depending on quality, and sawdust costs around PKR700 per maund.

Muhammad Faizan, a furniture factory owner, noted that waste wood previously discarded near Nullah Lai is now being collected by residents for cooking. Shehzad Manzoor Kiyani, divisional president of the All-Pakistan Clerks Association, stated that inflation and unreliable gas supplies have forced government employees to return to firewood and coal.

The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) raised the official LPG price for November to PKR294,075 per tonne, up from PKR279,341 in October. This has led to an increase in the price of an 11.8-kg domestic cylinder to PKR3,470, taking the official retail rate to PKR294 per kg.

LPG is reportedly selling for as much as PKR630 per kg in the open market, while company-operated franchises charge up to PKR400 per kg. Ogra attributed the price rise to a 6.47% increase in Saudi Aramco’s contract price, despite a marginal 0.12% decline in the average dollar exchange rate.