Year: 2020

Ransomware attack hits K-Electric, disrupts billing, online services

Admin

K-Electric could not issue electricity bills to its consumers in various regions as its billing system became non-functional after the attack. K-Electric, the sole electricity provider for Karachi has suffered a ransomware attack that led to the disruption of billing and online services. As per details, amid the attack K-Electric customers have been unable to access the online services for their account, and the company appears to be trying to reroute users through a staging site. Furthermore, K-Electric could not issue electricity bills to its consumers in various regions as…

Read More

Priority gas rights obsolete as all provinces face shortages’

Admin

ISLAMABAD: Warning of an impending serious gas shortage, the federal government on Tuesday said the Article 158 of the Constitution that promised priority rights to gas producing provinces was becoming irrelevant and all stakeholders would have to reach a consensus on a workable way forward. “We will be going towards massive (gas) load shedding in the coming days. We have to find a solution today how to increase supplies”, said Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Petroleum Nadeem Babar at a news conference with Federal Energy Minister Omar…

Read More

A good-sized gas discovery in Kalat

Admin

Amid a growing gas crisis in the country, Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) has stumbled upon what can easily be deemed as fairly decent gas reserves deep in the Balochistan province. The discovery of hydrocarbons, though significant in itself, promises to usher in a new chapter in the country’s oil and gas exploration sector. More than 70 years on, the energy crisis has been persistently eating into Pakistan’s growth. Power and gas outages plaguing the domestic and industrial sectors, coupled with a ballooning circular debt, have largely hindered progress. As the…

Read More

Who’s seeking removal of KE CEO?

Admin

ISLAMABAD: The federal government’s “Dubai Group” is reportedly behind the move to remove Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Karachi Electric (KE), Moonis Alvi for ostensibly not bringing any improvement in the power utility’s generation, distribution and transmission system, well-informed sources told Business Recorder. On Monday, a high-level meeting presided over by Minister for Energy, Omar Ayub decided to constitute a committee under the chairmanship of Additional Secretary, Waseem Mukhtar to resolve KE’s issues in the light Supreme Court directions. Meanwhile, KE’s Board of Directors also held a meeting to deliberate on…

Read More

Govt-owned power plants: Payables to be settled at par with settlement with IPPs

Admin

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has reportedly decided to settle payables of government-owned power plants amounting to Rs 357 billion as of June 2020 at par with settlement with Independent Power Producers (IPPs), well-informed sources told Business Recorder. The decision was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) headed by the Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Asad Umar. The decision was ratified by the Cabinet. The government has also decided that return on equity of the Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park should also be included for reduction to 17 per…

Read More