Month: September 2020

NEPRA’S Non-Regulatory Operation

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More than its quasi-judicial muscle, the power-sector regulator has started operating through backchannels to challenge the bureaucracy’s entrenched practices that have resulted in a black hole of more than 30pc in electricity generation through transmission, distribution and cost recovery. In February this year, a team of the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) led by its top officials reached out to the prime minister, questioning the data sheets presented by his own cabinet colleagues and officials assisting them. The team asked the prime minister to declare a “national power emergency”…

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Shahid Afridi wants to join hands with Sindh Govt to educate children of deprived areas of province

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Cricket legend Shahid Afridi has appealed to the Sindh Government to join hands with him in his drive called “Educate a Child”.  The famous cricketer turned philanthropist made this appeal in a joint statement along with Zahid Saeed who is the CEO of his partner charity Green Crescent Trust (GCT) The SAF has been running the eight charitable school in Karachi enrolling  2400 underserved students for over two years in collaboration with the GCT that in total runs 150-plus charitable schools in Sindh having enrolment of 29,000 children of the…

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Three plants relieved of LNG purchases from SNGPL, PSO

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ISLAMABAD: Overruling the petroleum division’s objections to looming losses to its companies, the federal cabinet has approved doing away with the condition of “minimum 66 per cent take-or-pay commitment of RLNG (re-gasified liquefied natural gas) for three Punjab-based mega power plants” to earn better privatisation proceeds and scale down power sector liabilities of over Rs2.15 trillion. The petroleum division has put on record that without a budgeted subsidy, the decision will “simply be transferring circular debt from power division companies to petroleum division companies and in fact increasing it”. A…

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Gearing up for better fuels

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Only Honda Atlas Cars has been rolling out Euro IV vehicles. Others, including bike assemblers, have been making Euro II vehicles on the excuse that refineries are still producing Euro II fuels. Pakistan has banned imports of petroleum diesel of less than Euro V standard with effect from Aug 1 and Jan 1, 2021, respectively. The shift to higher-standard fuels will push oil marketing companies (OMCs) and refiners to make major operational changes with huge investment in a tough business environment. Sources in the refineries and OMCs have also shown…

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Petroleum Division to float tenders for 27 new E&P blocks

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ISLAMABAD: The Petroleum Division (PD) has planned to auction 27 new Exploration and Production (E&P) blocks for stepping up oil and gas drilling activities in different hydrocarbon potential areas of the country. “The advertisement for the award of 20 E&P blocks will be given in the first week of October, while seven offshore blocks will be offered in December,” a senior official privy to petroleum sector developments told APP. The official said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was fully aware of the prevailing energy situation in the country and taking…

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