Unaccounted-for-Gas or UFG is a menace that all the stakeholders including the general consumers of natural gas have to wage a decisive war against.
This was reiterated by Amin Rajput, Acting Managing Director, SSGC, in a seminar entitled ‘UFG – A major threat’ organized by Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro, in collaboration with SSGC at the University’s main auditorium on February 15, 2017.
Defining UFG as the difference between total gas purchased and total gas sold to customers, Mr. Rajput stressed that this phenomenon is a major threat for the company since it takes away a large chunk of profits away from the company’s balance sheet. He said that one of the contributory factors for the rising tide of UFG are cases of gas theft in SSGC’s franchise areas of Sindh and Balochistan. The Acting MD said that as a responsible citizen one must refrain from committing gas theft more so since it is now a serious crime by legislation. He said that to bring repeat gas theft offenders to book, an SSGC-backed dedicated Police Station. Mr. Rajput said that the university students and faculty members must pass on the message conveyed to them about the menace of UFG including gas theft to their colleagues and neighbors so that each stakeholder can play a constructive role in clamping down on UFG and discouraging gas theft as well as meter tampering. Saeed Larik, Acting SGM (Distribution-South) stressed on some of the factors that contribute to UFG. He cited that while gas theft is a major factor, overhead and underground leakages, meter tampering and measurement errors also result in increasing volumes of UFG. He said that the company is totally focused towards reducing UFG by taking steps such as rectifying underground and overhead line leakages, conducting gas theft raids, replacing defective meters and installing cyber locks at industrial premises.
Shahbaz Islam, Head of Corporate Communications earlier gave a very interesting presentation on Personal Branding and stressed that university students aiming to develop themselves career-wise and as well rounded individuals, need to stand out by applying this concept of self-packaging in their ever day lives. Earlier, Professor M. A. Uqaili, Vice Chancellor, MUET and Dr. Farman Ali Shah, Chairman Chemical Engineering welcomed the guests and stressed on consistent collaboration with corporate sector organizations such as SSGC to facilitate them in achieving objectives with spillover benefits for the general public.
At the end of the seminar, S. Imran Ahmed, Chief Manager, Corporate Communications took a pledge from all the students and faculty members about taking a collective stand against the menace of UFG.
SSGC holds and participates regularly in such symposiums that highlights on pressing issues such as the need to conserve natural gas and controlling UFG.
