KCCI Rejects Gas Tariff Freeze, Demands Substantial Price Cuts for Industry

KCCI-Project

KARACHI: The leadership of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has expressed strong dissatisfaction over the government’s decision to freeze gas tariffs for six months, terming it an inadequate and cosmetic relief that fails to address the core challenges faced by industry. In a joint statement issued on Thursday, Businessmen Group (BMG) Chairman Zubair Motiwala and KCCI President Rehan Hanif said the business community had repeatedly urged the government to announce a meaningful reduction in gas tariffs to lower the cost of doing business and improve industrial competitiveness.…

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Nepra Approves 93-Paisa per Unit Fuel Cost Refund for January Bills

ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has approved a fuel cost adjustment (FCA) relief of 93 paise per unit for electricity consumers across the country, including K-Electric. The refund will be passed on in electricity bills for January 2026 against power consumption in November 2025. In its notification issued on Thursday, Nepra said it had determined a negative FCA of Rs0.9326 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for November. The relief will apply to all consumer categories of distribution companies, including K-Electric, except lifeline consumers, protected consumers, electric vehicle charging stations…

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PSO Rejects Fotco’s Unilateral Flow-Rate Penalties on Oil Cargoes

PSO-Head

Karachi: Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has strongly opposed the unilateral imposition of flow-rate penalties by Fauji Terminal and Distribution Company Limited (Fotco) on the import and export of oil cargoes, stating it will not accept the proposed charges. In a letter addressed to Fotco’s chief operating officer, PSO said that, in line with the oil industry’s collective stance, it categorically rejects draft agreements and penalties that lack any “logical, contractual, legal or regulatory basis”. As the largest throughputter at Fotco, PSO warned that the proposed measures would place an unfair…

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Gas Circular Debt Swells to Rs3.2 Trillion on Rising Late Payment Surcharges

OGRA-GAS

Islamabad: Pakistan’s gas sector circular debt has surged to Rs3.2 trillion, up from Rs2.6 trillion, primarily due to a sharp rise in Late Payment Surcharges (LPS), which now stand at Rs1.45 trillion, officials said. Of the remaining Rs1.75 trillion, around Rs210 billion has accumulated on account of income tax and general sales tax (GST), while the actual stock of circular debt is estimated at about Rs15 billion. The government is considering waiving off the LPS, arguing that both gas suppliers—mainly exploration and production (E&P) companies—and buyers, the Sui gas companies,…

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Small-Scale Rainforest Clearing Driving Major Climate Damage, Study Finds

Paris: While images of massive fires and large-scale logging in the Amazon often dominate discussions on deforestation, new research shows that small-scale rainforest clearing is causing a disproportionately large impact on the global climate. A study published in the journal Nature on Wednesday found that forest clearances of less than two hectares, though representing only a small fraction of total deforestation, account for 56 per cent of carbon losses in the world’s tropical rainforests over the past three decades. “These quieter, smaller acts of forest destruction are responsible for most…

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