Category: Recent Post

LAHORE: Punjab has accelerated efforts to establish a provincial power transmission and despatch (T&D) firm on the lines of the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC). In this regard, a summary has been initiated by the provincial energy department which seeks approval to establish Punjab Provincial Grid Company and is currently being reviewed by the provincial cabinet, Dawn has learnt. “Sindh has established its own transmission company already. We must have the same arrangement under the 18th Amendment. We are following up on the summary which has been sent to…

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Due to the ongoing circular debt crisis, electricity rates have been increased by Rs1.95 per unit. While the Finance Minister for Energy, Omar Ayub Khan, blames past governments for neglecting the pertinent issue—rightfully so—it is also worth noting that PTI’s tenure has also seen a sharp increase in debt accumulation. As such, to deflect blame entirely is massively unfair. Instead, it is vital to understand that increasing the power tariff is going to burden domestic consumers the most—a faction that neither enjoys subsidies, unlike various industries, nor an uninterrupted provision…

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The Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCOE) has emphasised that in future the government should not guarantee any liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies, which should be based on a competitive market mechanism. So far, the government has guaranteed LNG supplies which has exposed state-run gas companies to financial risk. Already, a foreign commodity trading company has filed a case against state-run Pakistan State Oil (PSO). During discussion in a recent meeting of the CCOE, the committee chairman noted that the main challenge in relation to new LNG terminals was the allocation…

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ISLAMABAD: The liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply defaults last week by two foreign state-owned companies — Enoc and SOCAR — came as a blessing in disguise to Pakistan as two urgent replacement tenders for February fetched about 16-18 per cent cheaper rates as international market plunged. The urgent tender floated by state-run Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) for second half of next month attracted the lowest bid of $9.58 per million British thermal unit (MMBTU) or 19.5pc of Brent for Feb 21-22 window from Vitol Trading and $8 per MMBTU or…

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The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government announced on Thursday Rs1.95 hike in the power tariff, which it blamed on the agreements made by the previous government with “bad-intentions and corrupt practices”. At a joint press conference with Planning Minister Asad Umar and Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Power Tabish Gauhar, Energy Minister Omer Ayub Khan said the government had paid Rs473 billion subsidy to the power sector last year despite economic crunch and the Covid-19 pandemic. The minister said that that previous government intentionally installed power plants based on imported…

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