Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) is facing a liquidity crunch as its receivables from the power sector have reached Rs. 173.654 billion, with delayed payments leaving the gas utility unable to meet some of its financial commitments.
According to a report by Business Recorder, the outstanding amount includes Rs. 60.989 billion owed by government power plants, Rs. 36.969 billion by independent power producers and Rs. 75.696 billion by other government-owned power plants, according to SNGPL data. The company has attributed the delay mainly to the non-release of funds by the Central Power Purchasing Agency Guaranteed.
Among the government power plants, Guddu Power has the largest outstanding amount at Rs. 35.240 billion, followed by Nandipur Power at Rs. 21.303 billion.
Other outstanding amounts include Rs. 1.482 billion against TPS Muzaffargarh, Rs. 2.330 billion against GTPS Faisalabad, Rs. 214 million against GTPS Shahdara, Rs. 86 million against SPS Faisalabad, Rs. 57 million against NGPS Multan, Rs. 116 million against the rented Bhikki power plant and Rs. 161 million against the rented Sharaqpur power plant.
The Rs. 60.989 billion owed by these government plants comprises Rs. 21.497 billion in undisputed gas charges, Rs. 4.465 billion in RLNG tariff actualization charges, Rs. 542 million in disputed gas charges and Rs. 34.173 billion in late payment surcharge on gas charges. SNGPL also reported Rs. 312 million in GIDC-related amounts, including gas charges.
Among IPPs, Liberty Power has the largest outstanding balance at Rs. 20.840 billion. Other major overdue amounts include Rs. 5.118 billion against KAPCO, Rs. 3.189 billion against Orient Power, Rs. 2.327 billion against Sapphire Power, Rs. 2.341 billion against Saif Power, Rs. 1.680 billion against FKPCL and Rs. 1.327 billion against Halmore. The IPP balance also includes disputed charges, late payment surcharges and GIDC-related amounts.
A further Rs. 75.696 billion is overdue against QATPL, Balloki Power, NPPMCL’s HBS and PTPL. Their respective outstanding amounts stand at Rs. 32.228 billion, Rs. 23.737 billion, Rs. 18.379 billion and Rs. 1.352 billion. SNGPL said Rs. 277 million was also payable by disconnected WAPDA rented power units, while disconnected IPP Davis Energen owed Rs. 88 million.
SNGPL has asked the Director General Gas of the Petroleum Division to take up the matter with the Power Division and seek early release of funds to WAPDA, IPPs and government power plants. The company said timely payments would allow these entities to clear their liabilities to SNGPL and enable the gas utility to meet its own obligations to gas suppliers.
The company’s General Manager Recovery warned that the prolonged delay had severely affected SNGPL’s liquidity and left it facing financial constraints.
He said the utility was unable to fulfill its commitments, including payments to upstream gas suppliers, and urged the concerned entities to clear their overdue amounts immediately. He added that SNGPL could exercise its contractual rights to recover the outstanding dues if payments were not made.
