Pakistan, Oct. 7 -- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is right to demand a gas-management plan before temperatures begin to fall. This year, however, planning will have to start from a harder fact than usual: Pakistan may simply not have enough imported gas to meet all expected demand. Officials had sought at least 22 LNG cargoes for December through February, but current estimates suggest barely half that number may be secured.

The proposed priority for domestic consumers makes sense, particularly during peak winter demand. Families should not be left unable to cook while gas is being consumed inefficiently elsewhere. Yet household protection cannot mean pretending that cheap piped gas remains endlessly available. Pakistan's indigenous prod...