SSGC Winter Gas Schedule: Gas Only 8 Hours a Day in Sindh & Balochistan — Timings, Plus SNGPL Slots for Punjab & KP

The Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) has announced its winter gas supply schedule for domestic consumers in Sindh and Balochistan: gas will be available for eight hours a day in three fixed windows — 6:30am to 9am for breakfast, 12pm to 2:30pm for lunch, and 6pm to 9pm for dinner. The schedule took effect immediately on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) has introduced the same three cooking-time slots for households in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad.

The three gas windows, in plain terms

Under the SSGC schedule, households in Sindh and Balochistan get gas at the three times of day when kitchens need it most. Breakfast runs from 6:30am to 9am, lunch from 12pm to 2:30pm, and dinner from 6pm to 9pm. Added together, that is eight hours of scheduled supply in each 24-hour period. Outside those windows, households should plan on no piped gas, which is why the announcement matters so much for daily routines: cooking, heating water and any gas-dependent chore now has to fit inside the three slots.

SSGC says the plan follows directives from the Government of Pakistan and is designed to protect domestic customers during cooking hours. An SSGC spokesperson told Dawn that the schedule covers domestic consumers in Sindh and Balochistan and comes into effect immediately. The company has also shared the timings on its official website and social media channels, after days of confusion over which schedule was real.

Why Karachi households are angry: Tuesday’s gas failure

The announcement landed one day after a severe gas failure across Karachi. On Tuesday, November 3, residents in many parts of the city woke up to find no gas in their stoves — even during meal times, despite SSGC’s assurance that gas would be supplied at meal timings. Complaints poured in from Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Liaquatabad, North Nazimabad, Nazimabad, Federal B Area, North Karachi, Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Malir, Korangi, Landhi, Orangi Town, Lyari, Saddar, PECHS, DHA and Clifton, among other areas.

The confusion was made worse by multiple contradictory gas supply schedules circulating on social media from Monday, with no clear consolidated statement from the utility until late Tuesday evening. For years, consumers have not had round-the-clock gas supply, yet the utility had never officially notified a three-time supply schedule before — it had only said gas would be supplied during meal times. That history is exactly why Wednesday’s formal announcement, with fixed clock timings, is a change: households now have an official schedule to hold the utility to, instead of a vague assurance.

Reaction to the winter schedule has been sharp. Consumers have demanded uninterrupted supply and better gas pressure, and some have pointed to heavy bills despite prolonged load-shedding — one consumer cited in local coverage claimed a bill of Rs20,000 last month despite facing gas cuts. Those billing complaints are individual claims, not SSGC figures, but they capture the frustration behind the trending searches: people are paying full bills for part-time gas.

Same timings in Punjab, KP and Islamabad

Households on the SNGPL network are on the same clock. SNGPL has introduced gas load management for domestic consumers in Islamabad, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, restricting supplies to the same three daily cooking-time slots from Wednesday: 6:30am to 9am, noon to 2:30pm and 6pm to 9pm. The reason given is the same — dwindling liquefied natural gas (LNG) availability and rising winter demand putting pressure on the gas supply system.

In practical terms, this means the whole country is now on one winter gas rhythm: three meal-time windows, and no scheduled supply outside them. The two utilities run separate networks and issue separate schedules for their own service areas, but the timings announced on November 4 match across both.

What this means for your household this winter

First, plan cooking around the windows. Meals that need long, slow cooking are best started early inside a slot, and water for bathing is best heated during the dinner or morning window rather than late at night, when supply is off. Second, keep a backup for the 16 off-hours: many households already rely on LPG cylinders, and the government’s November 3 decision to abolish the LPG quota system and move to transparent auctions is meant to keep LPG supply flowing this winter. Third, treat the announced windows as the plan, not a pressure guarantee — Tuesday showed that a scheduled window does not always mean full pressure in every street, so if your area misses a window, report it to SSGC through its official channels rather than relying on forwarded schedules on social media.

One important caution: only trust the timings published by SSGC and SNGPL themselves. The contradictory schedules that circulated on Monday were never confirmed by either utility, and acting on a forwarded timetable is how households were caught out on Tuesday morning. If a new schedule appears on WhatsApp or Facebook, check it against SSGC’s official website or its verified social media accounts before changing your routine.

Related reading: Petrol, diesel prices from November 4: petrol Rs369.06, diesel Rs391.52, Government ends LPG quota system: transparent auctions, state imports for winter, Pakistan winter gas crisis: Qatar LNG halt extended to December 29.

Frequently Asked Questions