Month: November 2020

PSM, LNG Plants’ Privatization in Limbo

Admin

ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Monday could not make definite decisions on taking privatisation plan for Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) and two LNG-fired power plants to the next stage and set up two separate committees to sort out issues hindering their sale for the past two years. The Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) met to consider approval of the transaction structure for privatisation of PSM and remove hurdles to the sale of two multibillion-dollar power plants along with other privatisation transactions. Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr…

Read More

NA panel clears CPEC Authority Bill 2020 despite opposition

Admin

A parliamentary committee cleared “The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority Bill 2020” with a majority vote despite resistance from the opposition, The News reported on Wednesday. During the NA Standing Committee on Planning and Development, chaired by Junaid Akbar, former minister Ahsan Iqbal presented seven reasons against the creation of CPEC authority. A heated debate ensued but the bill was cleared with a majority. In his dissenting note, Iqbal said the creation of CPEC authority is superfluous and unnecessary. He added that the planning minister discharged the role diligently and effectively in…

Read More

Joint Press Statement By Pak-Russia Technical Committee On North South Gas Pipeline

Admin

Islamabad, November 18, 2020: The Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) of Pakistan and Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation held first Russia-Pakistan Technical Committee meeting from 16th to 18th November 2020 in Islamabad on mutual cooperation for the development of North South Gas Pipeline Project. The project is a flagship strategic venture between the institutions of Pakistan and Russia which shall strengthen the long term bilateral ties between Pakistan and Russian Federation through people-to-people contact. The Project will begin a new era of economic cooperation between Pakistan and Russian…

Read More

Powering Pakistan from the heart of the desert

Admin

Pakistan aims to ensure energy independence by leveraging its own natural resources. Hitachi ABB Power Grids will provide 550-kilovolt (kV) gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) to power generation equipment manufacturer Shanghai Electric. The Thar Block-1 project comprises two power plants with the capacity to generate 1,320 megawatts (MW) of electricity to the national grid. Hitachi ABB Power Grids’ high-voltage compact metal encapsulated GIS offers outstanding reliability and operational safety in challenging climatic conditions. The GIS is an important component of a major energy project as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC),…

Read More

Purchasing power

Admin

The issue of power purchase, and when it is made, has come up before. Recently, PSO said that it bought additional furnace oil to meet a shortfall by K-Electric in Karachi, so that the people of Karachi would not suffer. The question, however, is why furnace oil was bought when a few months before in August and September, LNG was available at far lower costs. Purchasing it at that point and using it in the future could have saved the country millions of rupees. The Ministry of Energy has denied…

Read More