The government has decided in principle to provide uninterrupted gas supply to two Punjab-based fertiliser plants – Fatima and Agritech – on Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd (SNGPL) network over the coming months to ensure sufficient local fertiliser production. The decision to this effect was reached at a meeting presided over by Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin to review the supply…
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While the ministries of energy and maritime affairs wrangle over some operational issues, Pakistan’s petrol stocks have slid to a critical position, posing a challenge to smooth supplies, it emerged on Tuesday. As of August 2 evening, informed sources said, the overall petrol stocks were lower than eight days of the country’s average consumption coverage. This comes as a grim…
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There was a time when Peshawar was known as the city of flowers. Perhaps this was because of the many gardens built in the 16th and 17th centuries during the Mughal Era. Professor Sayed Amjad Hussain wrote in the September 7, 2018 issue of The Friday Times that, “At one time, Peshawar was known by her monikers ‘City of Flowers’…
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A Chinese company building a 720-megawatt hydropower generation complex on the Jhelum River says it has been facing serious problems and delays in obtaining advance tax exemption orders at import stage from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for the last few months. In a letter to CPEC Authority chairman Asim Saleem Bajwa, the Karot Power Company Ltd (KPCL) complained…
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The Pak-China Relations Steering Committee on Monday directed finalisation of a uniform policy framework within a month for extension in commercial operation dates (CODs) of five power projects of about 3,600 megawatts being set up under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The meeting presided over by Planning Minister Asad Umar also directed the Power Division to ensure availability of sufficient power…
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Making a new record, the state-run Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has purchased a cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) at $20.055 per unit (almost 27.9pc of Brent), the highest ever not only in the country but perhaps the second highest summer purchase in the world. This comes at a time when the government was justifying $15.5 per million British thermal…
Read MoreBusiness has been difficult for restaurateur Sylvain Belaud ever since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, with turnover plummeting by 60% last year. And now the director of the Cafe Francoeur in the Montmartre area in northern Paris will have to face what feels like yet another obstacle on the way back to business as usual. A “health pass” will…
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Climate change is hitting home everywhere. Just in the last few weeks, extreme heat, floods, and fires have all come to look like part of the new abnormal, and few places are safe. New York is issuing air quality alerts because of wildfires some 3,000 miles west. Climate policy, too, is increasingly personal, and there’s nothing quite as personal as…
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National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has approved a refund of Rs 6.7 billion to the consumers of Discos for a period of 12 months on account of Quarterly Adjustment (QTA) pertaining to the 3rd Quarter of FY2020-21. The allowed benefit amount has an impact of around Paisa 6.7/kWh on uniform basis on all consumers except lifeline and increment industrial…
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The Power Division has approached National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) for approval of a new subsidy mechanism for domestic consumers of Discos and KE, meant to bifurcate domestic consumers in more categories for higher revenue generation. The purpose of the new mechanism is to expand definition of lifeline consumers to include residential non-Time of Use (ToU) consumers having maximum…
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