LPG crisis deepens: Rs750 a kilo in KP, domestic cylinders top Rs10,000 as border closure chokes supply

PESHAWAR: The LPG crisis deepened on Thursday as prices climbed to Rs750 per kilogram in the northern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with a domestic cylinder now changing hands for more than Rs10,000 — over three times the official rate.

In Peshawar, LPG was retailing at about Rs600 per kg, while several other markets reported rates between Rs550 and Rs600. The official price notified by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority for October stands at Rs279.34 per kg — a figure consumers say exists only on paper.

The shortage, which has intensified over the past five to six days, is tied to the closure of the Taftan border with Iran amid rising US-Iran tensions, according to a senior OGRA official who spoke to The Express Tribune on condition of anonymity. Pakistan imports roughly 70 percent of its LPG; the remaining 30 percent is produced domestically.

What has raised eyebrows is OGRA’s hesitation. The regulator has not yet launched its planned crackdown on profiteers — officials privately admit they fear a heavy-handed enforcement drive could provoke strikes and make the supply situation worse.

Meanwhile, the government is reportedly weighing a shift from monthly to DAILY LPG price notifications, a move that would bring the pricing mechanism closer to how petrol and diesel are handled.

For households, the timing could hardly be worse. Winter is weeks away, and in the northern areas — where piped gas barely reaches — LPG is not a luxury but the only cooking fuel. “The official rate means nothing in the market,” one Peshawar shopkeeper said. “People have no choice but to pay.”