Year: 2021

This is the third resignation by technocrats in the energy sector in a row since the PTI government assumed power. Tabish Gauhar had earlier tendered resignation and went to Dubai in protest because of meddling into the power sector affairs by the-then SAPM on Petroleum Nadeem Babar, but he came back on the intervention of the prime minister on January 12, 2021. First, SAPM Syed Shahzad Qasim resigned and then SAPM Nadeem Babar was asked to resign because of the petrol crisis. Now SAPM Tabish Gauhar was told to tender…

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The commission board has given two minimum floor rates to the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCOP) for taking a decision, said an official of the privatisation ministry after the meeting. It has recommended setting the minimum price at Rs22.3 per share by giving a 7.5% discount on the three-month weighted average price of PRCL. The second option is that the minimum floor price should be Rs26 per share subject to the government’s commitment to declare 75% of the after-tax profit as dividend for the next three years. “After deliberations, the…

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Pakistan hit an all-time high power production level at 16,078 Gigawatt hours (GWh) in a month in August on the back of strong demand for energy from industries amid expansion and households adding appliances and gadgets in their daily usage. The growth in electricity generation is in line with the government’s policy to make maximum utilisation of the surplus power production capacity available in the country, as the excessive installed capacity is causing rise in the circular debt. Unfortunately, the positive development is achieved at a higher cost. The significant…

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The CPPA said Discos had charged consumers a reference fuel tariff of Rs4.73 per unit in August while actual fuel cost turned out to be Rs6.805 per unit, hence the additional fuel cost of Rs2.07 per unit should be charged to consumers in coming month. Interestingly, the major contribution of almost 35pc power supply came from hydropower resources at no fuel cost. On the other hand, LNG-based power contribution stood at 18pc but its fuel cost increased by 28pc since June. The CPPA reported that total energy generation from all…

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