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Islamabad, January 29, 2021 (PPI-OT): Honourable Governor Sindh, Mr. Imran Ismail held a detailed session with the group of industrialists along with Mr. Nadeem Babar, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Petroleum and Mr. Tabish Gohar, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Power this afternoon at Petroleum Division, Ministry of Energy. Secretary Petroleum, senior officials of Ministry of Energy and Managing Director of Sui Southern Gas Company were also present at the meeting.
The representatives of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) and the presidents of different associations of the industrial areas in Karachi also attended the meeting. At the onset, the Governor Sindh said that industrial development is one of the top priorities of Prime Minister Imran Khan. He said that the federal government would extend all possible assistance to them for industrial growth and of country’s exports.
He committed that no industry would be disconnected from gas supply unless they have an electricity connection to meet their requirements. SAPM on Power, Mr. Tabish informed the forum that Pakistan has overcapacity in terms of power generation and circular debt is a basic economy issue, connecting the industries with national grid would help to reduce the burden of take-or-pay charges on the government.
Further, he said that the incumbent government had announced the electricity tariff support package whereby all industries would be provided discounted rate on power tariffs on incremental usage of electricity for the next three years. He also added that the present government was bringing improvement in the power sector through bold policy decisions. Mr. Gohar said that the Discos would expeditiously process new connections and load enhancement applications for industries and ensure quality of supply to industry.
SAPM on Petroleum, Mr. Nadeem Babar said that the decision is based on the fact that consumption of scarce natural gas in inefficient CPPs was a big national loss. On the other hand, the surplus power generation capacity could be absorbed in these industrial units at competitive rates and reliable supplies. He informed the participants that the issue of gas supplies to CPPs had been under discussion for last ten years.
He added that allocation management policy 2005, clearly stated that the gas supplies to CPPs would be made on as/when available after meeting the requirement of other consumers. He said that even new policy also exempted captive units with co-generation since they have much higher combined efficiency. Mr. Babar also assured that Industrial units, which are not currently connected to the power grid or have electrical connection that are sufficient for their needs, would not be disconnected immediately.
He said that the government would request them to shift from gas-based captive power generation to the national power grid by December of this year. At the conclusion, the Governor Sindh urged that joint efforts by the industrialists and the federal government would ramp up the progress and development of the country.
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