The Consumer Affairs Authority is considering legal action against LAUGFS Gas PLC over a supply disruption that has left its cylinders hard to find for nearly three months, according to an official familiar with the matter.
Customers have struggled to secure LAUGFS cylinders for close to three months, leaving households frustrated and putting pressure on distributors and dealers trying to meet demand, the Daily Mirror reported at 9.37 a.m.
The official said the company had been repeatedly informed of the need to ensure an adequate supply of cylinders before legal action came under consideration. LAUGFS responded on several occasions that shipments were on their way but had been delayed.
Why one company’s shortfall moves the whole market
The disruption has pushed consumers towards the other major supplier, Litro Gas Lanka Ltd, and the scale of that shift is set out in figures the Cabinet Spokesman, Health Minister Dr Nalinda Jayatissa, gave earlier this week.
Daily demand for Litro gas has risen from about 1,100 metric tonnes to 1,600 metric tonnes since the LAUGFS shortage began affecting the market in September. Litro has lifted daily distribution to between 90,000 and 100,000 cylinders, against a normal rate of around 74,000 — an increase of roughly 22 to 35 per cent.
A shipment carrying 3,000 tonnes has arrived and is being unloaded, with a further vessel carrying 3,900 tonnes expected by 31 October.
Those figures were given at Tuesday’s Cabinet media briefing and were reported here on 27 October. They are repeated in Friday’s filing rather than newly announced. What is new is the regulator’s position: the CAA is now weighing action against the supplier whose shortfall caused the shift.
How much of the market LAUGFS holds
The Daily Mirror gives the company’s own figures for its market position:
| Segment | LAUGFS share |
|---|---|
| Domestic and commercial LPG | ~30% |
| Industrial bulk LPG | ~60% |
| Vehicle autogas retail | ~85% |
On those numbers the disruption is not confined to household kitchens. A company supplying roughly six in ten tonnes of industrial bulk LPG and the large majority of vehicle autogas affects manufacturing and transport as well as domestic cooking — which is the context in which the regulator’s warnings were issued.
A caution on these percentages. They are attributed to company figures and describe shares of distinct market segments. They are not the same measure as an overall split of national gas supply between the two companies, and the two should not be read together or added.
Not reported
The filing does not name the official who described the CAA’s position, or say under which provision any action would be brought, whether a formal decision has been taken, or what penalty could follow. No timeline is given.
LAUGFS is not reported as having commented beyond the delayed-shipment explanations described, and no cause is given for the delays. Nothing is reported on when the company expects supply to normalise, on the size or arrival date of any LAUGFS shipment, or on whether the CAA has issued a formal notice. The Authority has not published a statement of its own.
