SNGPL Gas Bill Slab Rates Explained: Protected vs Non-Protected
Your SNGPL gas bill can look like a mystery in winter: one month it is Rs. 1,500, the next it is Rs. 12,000, even though you only used a little more gas. The reason is the slab system. Gas is priced in slabs, so the rate per unit rises as your monthly consumption goes up. Understanding the slabs is the only way to know whether your bill is correct and how to bring it down.
How gas is measured: hm3 and MMBTU
SNGPL measures consumption in hm3 (hectometres cubed — 1 hm3 equals 100 cubic metres of gas). The price you pay is charged per MMBTU, which is a unit of energy. Roughly, 1 hm3 of gas equals about 3.5 MMBTU at the standard gas quality (GCV) used in Pakistan. You do not need to memorize this — the key point is that higher usage pushes you into a higher slab, where the per-unit price is much higher.
Protected vs non-protected: the two categories
SNGPL splits domestic consumers into two categories:
- Protected consumers are low-usage households. Your account is protected if your average gas use during the winter months (November to February) was 0.9 hm3 or less per month. Protected consumers pay the lowest rates, starting at about Rs. 200 per MMBTU.
- Non-protected consumers are everyone else — households whose winter use went above 0.9 hm3 per month. They pay much higher rates, starting at about Rs. 500 per MMBTU and going up sharply with use.
This is the single most important thing on your bill. This protected/non-protected structure is what the government wants to replace with a single uniform tariff in the future, with support for low-income households through income-based assistance — but as of late 2026 no new domestic tariff notice had been issued, and the July 2025 rates still applied.
The slab table (OGRA rates, 1 July 2025 onward)
| Category | Monthly use (approx. bands) | Rate per MMBTU (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Protected | Lowest use | Rs. 200 |
| Protected | Mid use | Rs. 250 to Rs. 300 |
| Protected | Up to 0.90 hm3 | Rs. 350 |
| Non-protected | Lowest non-protected use | Rs. 500 |
| Non-protected | Mid use | Rs. 750 to Rs. 1,200 |
| Non-protected | Highest use | Up to Rs. 4,200 |
Note: sources disagree slightly on exact slab band edges (for example whether a protected band ends at 0.25, 0.4 or 0.5 hm3). The range above shows the structure — protected from about Rs. 200 to Rs. 350 per MMBTU, non-protected from Rs. 500 up to about Rs. 4,200 per MMBTU. Confirm the exact bands on your bill.
Note that the slabs are not incremental in the electricity sense — your whole consumption is billed at the rate of the slab you fall into. Crossing a band edge as a non-protected consumer moves the entire bill to the higher slab rate.
Fixed monthly charges are added on top: about Rs. 600 for protected homes, and about Rs. 1,500 to Rs. 3,000 for non-protected homes depending on usage, plus meter rent of about Rs. 40.
Protected-status checker
Enter your typical winter month usage to see your likely category. This is an estimate, not an official ruling.
To verify against your actual bill, use our Sui Gas Bill Estimator or check your live bill with your consumer number.
A worked example: why 0.9 hm3 is the magic number
Take a protected household that uses 0.80 hm3 in a month. It stays protected and pays around Rs. 350 per MMBTU — roughly 2.8 MMBTU of gas, so about Rs. 1,000 for the gas itself plus Rs. 600 fixed charge.
Now the same household uses 1.00 hm3 one winter month because of a geyser. It crosses 0.90 hm3, and the next bill is calculated as non-protected: the whole 1.00 hm3 is billed at about Rs. 750 per MMBTU — about 3.5 MMBTU, or roughly Rs. 2,625 — plus about Rs. 1,500 fixed charge. Same gas, nearly four times the bill, and the account stays non-protected afterward.
This is the number one reason for "my bill doubled for no reason" complaints in winter. Use the Gas Bill Tax Analyzer to see the tax and fixed-charge breakdown on your own bill.
How to keep your account protected
- Track your monthly hm3 reading. Your meter shows the reading; compare it month to month and keep each winter month under 0.9 hm3.
- Cut geyser time, not geyser heat. A geyser running 2 hours heats enough water for a day's use; 6 hours of heating burns through 0.3-0.4 hm3 extra in a month. Use a timer.
- Do not run gas heaters in every room. One room heater running all evening is the fastest way to cross 0.9 hm3. Heat only the room you are sitting in.
- Fix leaks and inefficient burners. A burner with a yellow, sooty flame wastes gas. Clean the stove jets so flames burn blue.
- Cook smart. Cover pots while cooking and use a pressure cooker for beans and meat — these cut cooking gas by a third.
What to check on your bill
Read your bill before paying. Confirm the current meter reading matches your meter (provisional bills, issued when nobody read your meter, get adjusted against the next real reading, but it is worth knowing). Check your category — protected or non-protected — and your consumption in hm3. If the category looks wrong, visit your SNGPL customer service centre with your CNIC and last few bills.