ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: Gas supply has been restored to a cluster of areas along the Islamabad Expressway corridor after an overnight suspension announced by Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited to allow work on a main pipeline.
In a notice issued ahead of the shutdown, SNGPL said supply would remain suspended from 9pm on Monday, 7 September, until 5am on Tuesday, 8 September, because of the disconnection of a main pipeline near Khanna Pul, Service Road East, Islamabad Expressway.
The suspension covered Ghauri Town to Faizabad East Service Road, Lehtrar Road from Khanna Pul to Burma Town, Sohan, Ghauri Town, Gulberg, Shakrial, Rehman Garden and adjoining localities.
Officials had advised consumers in the listed areas to make alternative arrangements and to keep appliances switched off during the shutdown to avoid any accident — standard guidance whenever a distribution network is depressurised.
The instruction is not a formality. When a main is isolated, residual pressure drains from the network and air can enter the line at the point of work. On restoration, the first gas to arrive at a burner may be mixed with air, and any appliance left in the “on” position with an extinguished flame becomes a source of unburnt gas accumulating in an enclosed room.
Consumers restoring service after any planned shutdown are advised to ventilate kitchens before relighting, to check that pilot lights on geysers and heaters have not been left open, and to report any smell of gas to SNGPL’s helpline rather than attempting to trace a leak with a flame.
Planned maintenance shutdowns cluster in late summer and early autumn for a reason. SNGPL, which operates the transmission and distribution network across Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and the Islamabad Capital Territory, uses the pre-winter window to complete pipeline replacement, tie-ins and network augmentation before demand climbs.
From late November, domestic load rises sharply as space heating comes online, and the company’s operational focus shifts from maintenance to load management — the annual cycle of pressure complaints, sectoral curtailment and scheduled supply that has become a fixture of the Punjab winter.
Consumers are advised to follow SNGPL’s official notices and verified social media channels for advance notice of future shutdowns in their area.
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