Category: News & Announcement

ISLAMABAD: The Engineering Development Board (EDB) Thursday circulated the draft Electric Vehicle (EV) policy 2020-25 amongst stakeholders after facing harsh criticism in the Cabinet on March 25, 2020, well-informed sources told Business Recorder. According to the draft policy, since hybrid technology does not require additional infrastructure development, which is one of the major prerequisites for EVs, hence the thrust of this policy is to provide an incentive structure. This is suitable and feasible for establishment of local manufacturing capabilities in EV within the country. The EDB says that since the…

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The government has lately been trying to tackle the growing circular debt in the power sector. The policy thrust has largely been administrative. It has involved power cuts in the low-recovery areas and raises in the electricity prices to recover the costs. This hasn’t produced any tangible results. On one hand, the government plans to float a Rs200bn Sukuk to settle part of the debt and, on the other, it has announced a freeze on electricity prices till June. This is not a wholesome policy as both the Sukuk and…

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Federal Government is under pressure to declare force majeure in its liquefied natural gas (LNG) deal with Qatar following a sharp decline in gas demand in the wake of lockdown due to coronavirus spread, sources said. Petroleum Division is working with Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and two public sector gas utilities – Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd (SNGPL) on a proposal for the federal government to declare force majeure in its long-term deal with Doha in order to halt LNG import that is expensive…

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ISLAMABAD: In a bid to ward off negative impact of coronavirus on consumers, the Power Division has proposed to the government to freeze electricity tariff for next six months with effect from April to September 30, 2020, The News has learnt. Top official sources confirmed to The News on Friday that the Power Division estimated that there would be built up of Rs150 billion on account of decision of freezing Fuel Price Adjustment (FPA) of Rs73 billion and Rs77 billion because of non-materialisation of Quarterly Tariff Adjustment (QTA). With decision…

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The ozone layer is continuing to heal and has the potential to fully recover, according to a new study. A scientific paper, published in Nature, heralds a rare success in the reversal of environmental damage and shows that orchestrated global action can make a difference. The ozone layer is a protective shield in the Earth’s stratosphere which absorbs most of the ultraviolet radiation reaching us from the sun. Without the ozone layer it would be nearly impossible for anything to survive on the planet. In the past, human use of substances – chlorofluorocarbons…

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