Year: 2021

MINING DEADLY TOMORROWS

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THE weather in Mach town of Balochistan’s Bolan district was pleasant on Saturday morning, but it then started raining. Mach, a coal mining town, wears a dusty, disheveled look. Everybody is linked to the coalmine business one way or the other. Across the road and river leading to the town, work is under way in mines. But fear is in the air after the March 12 accident in which seven miners died. But nobody seems to be overly bothered, including the coalminers themselves. Dilbar Khan Swati is one of them.…

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Proposals for privatisation of 10 Discos finalised

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ISLAMABAD: The Privatistion Commission (PC) on Wednesday finalised proposals for the participation of the private sector in the management of 10 power distribution companies (Discos) and the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) will take up the issue in its next meeting. Chairing the second meeting of the PC board on Discos, Privatisation Minister Muhammadmian Soomro said the purpose of the private sector’s participation is to resolve power supply issues and improve the services of power distribution companies by making them competitive. Power Adviser Tabish Gohar also attended the meeting. The…

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OMCs join ranks of those gunning for SAPM on petroleum

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Special Advisor to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Petroleum Nadeem Babar seems to have made some enemies by implying at the last meeting of the federal cabinet that small oil marketing companies (OMCs) might be engaging in malpractices like smuggling. He informed the meeting that eight of 66 licensed OMCs held 92 percent of the market share, adding it was to be examined whether the remaining OMCs were surviving on malpractices, such as smuggling. Small OMCs reacted sharply to the insinuation Tuesday, striking back by likening SAPM’s statement to opening…

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Power distribution companies: World Bank proposes ‘Pakistan Model’ for private participation

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ISLAMABAD: The World Bank has proposed ‘Pakistan Model’ to hand over Distribution Companies (Discos) to the private sector for 20 years with equity injection of Rs 728 billion without any cash impact layoffs and transfer of government assets, sources close to SAPM on Power Tabish Gauhar told Business Recorder. The 18-month roadmap is supposed to be achieved using the examples of Turkey and some countries in Latin America as well as Pakistan’s indigenous experience with private participation. According to the roadmap, transfer of government assets to private parties and the…

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Power tariff increase: Not worth it

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You say one thing while in the opposition, and quite the other while in the government. That also seems to apply perfectly well in the energy sector of Pakistan. All tariff increase is bad in opposition and inefficiencies are offered as the solution. When in government, increase is substituted by inevitable “rationalization”, and system inefficiencies are no longer the vital cog. It has happened all too often in the past few years, and the government’s recent decision in principle to go for an insane round of electricity price revision, is…

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