Energy security has a cost — and it has already paid for itself

LNG in the age of outrage Fasih Ahmed In the latest debate over Pakistan’s energy costs, a single number is being used to fuel public outrage: the daily payment made to the country’s LNG import terminals. It is often described as “payment for nothing.” In fact, it is payment for readiness. An LNG terminal is not a gas producer or supplier. It is infrastructure. Its job is to remain operational and ready—every hour of every day—so that when a ship arrives, the cargo can be converted back into gas and supplied to the national grid. Think of a fire station. The municipality does not stop paying for trucks, equipment, or firefighters because there wasn’t a fire yesterday. It pays for readiness. The same principle applies here. A terminal that is available and ready is, in fact, performing its function—whether one cargo arrives or more. The debate turns on a basic distinction that is being overlooked. There are the gas supply contracts, which determine when and how much gas arrives. And there are the terminals, which ensure that when gas does arrive, there is somewhere for it to go. Supply and infrastructure are not the same thing. Treating them as interchangeable is where the argument fails. A common argument is that supply contracts may suspend deliveries under force majeure while terminal payments continue. This is presented as a design flaw. It is, in fact, risk allocation. Upstream contracts govern whether gas is available. Terminal contracts govern whether the country is ready to receive it. When supply is disrupted, the terminal does not disappear. It remains staffed, maintained, financed, and ready. “No gas, no payment” misstates what is being paid for. The facts on the ground also do not support the narrative of unready infrastructure. Gas flowed through March. There was a temporary interruption in April. But on April 30, an LNG cargo had docked, supply resumed, and the Power Minister credited this gas for ending load-shedding. At least two additional cargoes ar