Month: May 2022

Pakistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have affirmed their stance to consolidate security and stability, fight against violence, extremism and terrorism, support the unity and independence of the countries of the region and their territorial integrity, as well as to give priority to political solutions that bring prosperity and progress to the region and its people. A joint statement issued from Jeddah on the conclusion of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s three-day visit to KSA said, “The two sides agreed to continue exchanging support and coordination in international organizations and…

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To the concern of agriculturists, gas supply to at least two fertiliser manufacturing units in Punjab has been further worsening the compost crisis, which set in before the advent of the last Rabi season. Industry sources say the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) directed Agritech Limited and Fatima Fertiliser in writing on Saturday (April 30) to immediately start ramp-down of RLNG off-take so that the same reaches zero by midnight. The SNGPL communiqué informs the industry that the gas supply is to be diverted to the power sector in…

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The business community, while condemning the government’s new deadline of ending power loadshedding, has stressed the need to fulfill the earlier directives of the prime minister for a visible reduction in power outages by May Day. “It is unfortunate that the power plants of 5,700MW are available but they cannot generate electricity due to non-availability of fuel, resulting into power suspension in the industry. Pakistan Industrial & Traders Association Front senior vice chairman Nasir Hameed and vice chairman Javed Siddiqi asked the authorities concerned to make a sustained and smooth…

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In a fortnightly review, the federal government has decided to continue the subsidy on petroleum products for the first half of May against the recommendation of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) which had proposed an increase up to Rs20.81 per litre excluding petroleum levy (PL) and General Sales Tax (GST). Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb announced Thursday (April 28) that the price of petroleum products will remain unchanged for the first half of May. In a statement, the information minister shared that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, once again, decided…

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 Competitive bidding for new power capacity in Pakistan has yet to be implemented, delaying the expected benefits to consumers in terms of lower generation costs and the much-needed transition to a more secure, sustainable, and affordable electricity sector, says the World Bank. The bank in its latest report “Pakistan Sustainable Energy Series, Variable Renewable Energy Competitive Bidding Study” stated that based on the government’s current projections, Pakistan will need to carry out competitive bidding for more than 11 GW of solar and wind power capacity between now and 2028, starting…

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The Petroleum Division has arranged 281,000 MMT furnace oil for May 2022 for the power sector to be supplied till May 24, 2022, fearing that supplies can be disputed during the first week of May due to the Eid holidays. On April 23, 2022, Power Division sent the revised plant-wise demand for furnace oil for the month of April, and May 2022. According to the Directorate General of Oil (Petroleum Division), the matter was consulted with PSO, APL and BE, being the major suppliers of RFO to the power sector.…

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Power Division has sought additional resources of Rs 329 billion from the Finance Ministry to deal with load shedding, ranging from 8-14 hours a day across the country, as 5,739 MW electricity is not in the system due to unavailability of fuel. Of Rs 329 billion, Power Division has sought Rs 108 billion by May 25, 2022, Rs 136 billion by June 7, 2022 and Rs 85 billion by June 15, 2022. The circular debt has already crossed Rs 2.460 trillion. “Power plants of 5,739 MW are available but they…

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