Pakistan’s Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Monday said that the government has decided to shut markets and commercial centres by 8pm daily, in a bid to conserve energy amid high oil prices, reported Dawn.
The decision was taken in two meetings of National Economic Council (NEC), which took place in the presence of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
This new rule was proposed back in January under the National Energy Conservation Plan and will be implemented from July 1 onwards.
“Today, steps for energy conservation have been recommended under the plan, such as the closure of shops and commercial centres by 8pm, switching to LED lights and upgrading geysers to make them more energy efficient,” Iqbal said in a statement during a press conference. He believes that these measures could help the country save up to $1 billion a year.
However, traders have simply refused to follow the new plan once again. The energy consumption plan was proposed back in January, where the proposed timing for the closure of market was 8:30 pm and wedding halls by 10 pm. In the latest
“We will not close our shops by 8pm in the current season. The government has made many such attempts in the past but failed,” Ajmal Baloch, president of the All Pakistan Anjuman-i-Tajiran, said in a statement.
He also said that people rarely step outside their homes in summer daytime for shopping. The peak shopping time is between 8pm to 11pm. “Is it a wise decision to save energy at the cost of the country’s economy?” he added.
Meanwhile, Planning Minister Iqbal countered it by saying that energy and infrastructure issues were discussed during the meeting, adding that energy had become huge challenge for Pakistan due to high global prices.
“Saudi Arabia has cut down oil production by one million barrels, which poses a risk of oil prices rising to $100 per barrel,” Iqbal said. He also expressed his concern that if Pakistan continued to rely on fossil fuel and oil for its energy needs, “our economy will remain vulnerable”.
In another meeting on Tuesday, the Pakistani government also decided to include energy reforms in the upcoming budget, which will be present on Friday, June 9.
The Prime Minister’s office in a statement said that the PM had directed his officials to allocate funds for launching wind and solar energy projects, while including measures to control power line losses and electricity theft.
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