ISLAMABAD: The government is likely to stop gas supply to CNG stations, industries and fertiliser and captive power plants (CPP) in Punjab for more than two months in the winter and also reduce the supply to these sectors in Sindh.

A proposal for gas load management was finalised here on Wednesday at a meeting presided over by the Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. Formal approval of the revised plan will be given by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet at its next meeting.

This would be the first time that a complete gas shutdown would be applied to the industrial, fertiliser and CPP sectors despite their nine-month supply contract.

An official told Dawn that that the load management would tentatively remain effective from Dec 15 to Feb 28, depending on situation of gas supply on the basis of the severity of winter.

The meeting was informed that the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGPL) anticipated a shortfall of 1.4 billion cubic feet per day, while the Sui Southern Gas Company would face about 400 million cubic feet shortfall from December to February.