Category: Shortcode

Liberalising of the power sector will prove to be a game-changer as it will do away with monopoly to encourage competition and reasonable tariffs, a top government official said on Tuesday. Tauseef Farooqi, chairman of the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) said the authority approved the detailed design and 18-month implementation plan of the competitive trading bilateral contract market (CTBCM) that will usher in a competitive environment in power sector. The government initiated financial health assessment of power distribution companies to know their credit worthiness. The power sector is…

Read More

Ample inventory of petroleum products including diesel is available in the country, while cargoes are waiting off-port, industry officials said on Monday, advising against any panic-buying. “It’s mainly because of the fact that refineries are producing higher amounts of fuels, while OMCs (oil marketing companies) planning importing them to meet volume commitments on time, despite the limited availability in world markets,” said Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC), in a statement. “Since HSD sales have drastically soared in the country due to the harvesting season, OCAC is actively playing its role…

Read More

As the government weighs ceasing fuel subsidy to ensure the IMF loan, diesel, the main transport fuel, is nowhere to be found in smaller stations in Punjab courtesy hoarding, officials said, warning the crisis was not far from big cities. Sources in the oil sector said the hoarding of diesel has started in view of likely price hike in the next fortnightly review, which looks imminent after the government agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to withdraw the fuel subsidy. Though Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) and Oil…

Read More

Pakistan has sought an increase in the size and duration of its $6 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, the country’s Finance Minister, Miftah Ismail, said on Monday. Ismail made the comments in a video statement following talks with the IMF in Washington. It came after the fund said Islamabad has agreed to roll back subsidies to the oil and power sectors ahead of a resumption next month of a review of the IMF’s support for the country. “I’ve requested the fund and I think they have, largely, they’ve agreed…

Read More

The country is facing electricity load-shedding of 5-8 hours in different areas/localities due to higher demand and lower generation due to shortage of fuel especially gas supply to power plants. On Monday at 2:36 pm, generation was recorded at 17976 MW against demand of over 21,000 MW, showing a substantial gap in demand and generation. Of this, 14536 MW was from IPPs, 837 MW from Gencos and 2603 MW from Wapda hydel. According to sources, LNG-fired plants are being supplied only 500 MMCFD RLNG against their demand of 690 MMCFD,…

Read More