Year: 2021

Energy sector’s circular debt soars to Rs2.28trn

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The country’s energy sector circular debt has increased by over 2000 per cent to Rs 2.280 trillion in FY 2020-21 from Rs 105 billion in 2008 due to variety of factors including Transmission and Distribution (T&D) losses. This information was shared by the Power Division with the Senate Standing Committee on Power, chaired by Senator Saifullah Abro, soon after a chaotic situation in the committee was witnessed at the absence of Minister for Energy, Hammad Azhar and Secretary Power, Ali Raza Bhutta. Power Division stated that circular debt was Rs…

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Hydel power projects to cope with future energy, water challenges: official

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Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) president Mian Tariq Misbah has welcomed the execution of renewable energy projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and said that the hydel power projects were necessary to cope with the future energy and water challenges. “The CPEC has brought renewable energy projects and improvement of the transmission system. These are good for fulfilling energy needs of the country, but we should go for [the] construction of more dams for water storage for irrigation and generation of cheaper electricity,” he said. The high…

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LSM sector contracts 4.9% in July

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In contrast to government hopes for a strong start to the new fiscal year, the large-scale manufacturing (LSM) sector contracted 4.9% in July 2021 over the preceding month. Three reporting sources – the Oil Companies Advisory Committee (OCAC), the federal Ministry of Industries and the Provincial Bureaus of Statistics – reported an overall negative growth in the production by industries that they monitored in July over June this year, according to a report published by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Wednesday. The OCAC reported a contraction of 0.3%,…

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Karachi exporters deplore higher RLNG tariff

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The export-oriented industries of Karachi have expressed annoyance due to sheer discrimination and dubious conduct on the part of the. The ministry disregarded the summary approved by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet, which has uniformly approved regasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) tariff at $6.5/MMBTU all inclusive to the export-oriented sectors during the financial year 2021/22 to apply across Pakistan, Muhammad Jawed Bilwani, chairman of the Pakistan Apparel Forum, said in a statement. The Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division), in complete contravention to the government’s export-friendly policy and…

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KE’s results belie enormity of power sector challenges

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K-Electric’s recent submission of its financial results to the PSX reported a profit of PKR 11.9 billion, a significant improvement from the loss of PKR 2.9 billion reported in the previous fiscal year. In itself, the number will have us believe that the company’s financial position is remarkable, but a comparison with other private sector entities shows that this is a misleading conclusion. KE reported Return on Equity (RoE) of -1.4 percent and five percent for FY 20 and FY 21 (based on nine months) respectively, which are significantly lower…

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