Year: 2021

CAA negligence costs PIA over Rs19 billion

Admin
PIA-plane

In the last 9 months, the national flag carrier – the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) – has suffered a loss of over Rs19billion on account of a ban imposed on its flight operation by the European Union (EU) primarily due to the negligence of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Sources in the PIA said the airline has to incur a loss of Rs2.2billion every month since July 2020 when the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (Easa) placed a six-month ban on the PIA flights in the wake of PIA plane…

Read More

The Future of Travel in the Covid-19 Era

Admin

We may not know much about when it will be safe to resume traveling internationally, or how soon after that countries will begin to lift travel restrictions. What we do know is that travel will be fundamentally different on the other side. Airlines, airports, cruise lines, and hotels will all need to develop and adhere to new guidelines about social distancing, cleaning, and food service. Transparency, which hasn’t been the industry’s strongest suit—think ineffective travel insurance policies and cryptic passenger protection rules—will become essential. And companies will need to shift…

Read More

Fuel adjustments remain high

Admin

Another 64 paisas per unit gets added to the monthly Fuel Charges Adjustment (FCA) for February 2021. This takes the average monthly adjustment in FY21 so far to 82 paisas per unit, of Rs1 per unit sought originally. February is historically the month with lowest electricity demand, and invariably the month with least economic merit order violations. Low power demand, coupled with easing domestic and imported gas demand pressure, ensures the system runs rather smooth in February. That said, there were still deviations from the reference monthly tariff, as power…

Read More

Power division asked for cost-effective solution to pensions

Admin

ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet on Wednesday directed the power division to deliberate further and present options for cost optimisation regarding pension liabilities of surplus employees of closed power plants. Power division presented a summary for a one-time grant to power generation companies for onward payment to distribution companies regarding the actuarial value of pension and pensionary benefits of surplus employees and also taking over the liability for payment of pension to existing pensioners of power plants which were decided to be closed immediately by the…

Read More

Despite ‘no objection’ from NAB: Bureaucracy refuses to execute revised deals with IPPs

Admin

ISLAMABAD: After the NAB letter to the Power Division which says the government has the full authority to execute its revised deals with IPPs, the top bureaucracy of both the power and finance divisions is not ready to implement the altered contracts, arguing the anti-graft body didn’t so far validate the process of negotiations and agreements inked with the IPPs. The NAB in February 2021 took suo moto of the whole negotiations and signing of MoUs, Master agreements and revised power purchase agreements (PPAs) and got hold of all records…

Read More