Category: Latest News

LNG Freight Rates Surge Over 40% Amid Escalating Middle East Conflict

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LNG

SINGAPORE: Daily freight rates for liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers surged by more than 40% on Monday as escalating tensions in the Middle East disrupted tanker movements through the Strait of Hormuz. According to Spark Commodities, a leading pricing assessment agency for LNG shipping, Atlantic basin rates climbed to $61,500 per day — an increase of 43%, or $18,750, compared to the previous day. In the Pacific basin, LNG freight rates rose to $41,000 per day, marking a 45% jump, or $12,750 higher than the preceding session. The sharp rise…

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Govt Drafts First-Ever Power Sector Indigenisation Plan 2026–35 to Cut Import Dependence

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power-sector-in-pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The federal government is finalising Pakistan’s first-ever Power Sector Indigenisation Plan (PSIP) 2026–35, a comprehensive roadmap aimed at strengthening domestic manufacturing in the power sector, reducing reliance on imports and positioning the country as a competitive player in regional energy supply chains. The plan focuses on the strategic localisation of Electrical Power Equipment (EPE) — including transformers, switchgear, cables, meters and control systems — which are currently imported in large volumes. Phased Strategy for Localisation Drawing lessons from countries such as China, India and Turkey, the framework proposes a…

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Govt Unveils Energy Contingency Plan as Trade Deficit Swells to $25bn

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New-Project90

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has activated an emergency energy contingency plan to ensure uninterrupted fuel and gas supplies amid escalating tensions in the Gulf region, while Pakistan’s trade deficit widened by 25% to $25 billion during the first eight months of the current fiscal year. A ministerial committee tasked with maintaining smooth petroleum supplies briefed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday after Qatar signalled it may not be able to supply scheduled liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes due to the ongoing Gulf conflict. The prime minister authorised the committee—headed by…

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Policy Clarity Key to Attracting Chinese Solar Manufacturing Under Green CPEC Alliance

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Solar-Industry

ISLAMABAD: Energy experts and policymakers have called for clear, consistent and execution-focused policies to position Pakistan as a viable destination for Chinese solar manufacturing under the Green CPEC Alliance. The call was made at a regional conference titled “Asean-to-Pakistan Pathways: Attracting Chinese Investment for Solar PV Value-Chain Manufacturing”, hosted by the Pakistan-China Institute. The event explored how Pakistan can draw lessons from Southeast Asia’s solar boom to anchor domestic manufacturing. Dr Christoph Nedopil, Director of the Griffith Asia Institute, stressed the need to replicate the conditions that made Asean countries…

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Surplus Capacity, High Fixed Costs Driving Persistent High Power Tariffs: National Electric Power Regulatory Authority Report

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Nepra-KE-1

ISLAMABAD: Ill-planned surplus generation capacity, low plant utilisation, high fixed costs and inefficient dispatch have become a structural cause of elevated consumer-end electricity tariffs in Pakistan, according to the Annual Report on the Performance of Power Plants FY2024-25 released by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra). The regulator noted that the sector’s high fixed costs, combined with underutilised generation assets and inefficient dispatch practices, have resulted in higher electricity prices and growing financial stress on both the power system and the federal budget. The report stressed that expanding generation…

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