Business

Gas will only be available for eight hours in winter: power minister

Published

1 year ago

Farwa

Loadshedding plan being devised to ensure gas supply for eight hours: minister.
Says natural gas reserves further depleted by 18% compared to last year.
Rs16 billion had been collected from electricity defaulters so far, says Ali.

Caretaker Power Minister Muhammad Ali has said that gas will only be available for eight hours in the winters amid depleting natural gas reserves in the country.

“[Gas] loadshedding has been taking place for the last few years. The loadshedding will occur this year as well because we don’t have enough gas to supply it for 24 hours,” the interim minister said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Wednesday.

Like last year, the minister said the loadshedding plan was being devised to ensure a gas supply for eight hours. He said the natural gas reserves have further depleted by 18 % compared to the last year.

Power Minister Ali also expressed hope that the issue of gas shortage for industry in December will be resolved to a greater extent as two liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes have been finalised.

The minister said despite various constraints, all-out efforts were being made to ensure the availability of gas to domestic, industrial and fertilizer sectors with minimum gas load management in the coming winter season.

“We have only two LNG terminals and limited natural gas but today we have finalised two LNG cargoes for December, which would help address the gas supply issues in December for the industry. The gas supply was also being improved for the fertilizer sector, he added.

Speaking about ongoing crackdown on power thieves, the minister said an amount of Rs16 billion had been collected from electricity defaulters so far during the ongoing crackdown, which would further continue.

He said it had been decided to change the board of directors (BoDs) of all the power distribution companies (DISCOs).

The management of DISCOs would be handed over to the private sector on long-term concession, he added.

Earlier this week, The News reported that the Petroleum Division was in the process of giving the final touches to a summary to increase the gas tariff, which will be tabled in the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) meeting for approval

After ratification by the federal cabinet, the government will notify the new gas prices not from July 1, 2023 but from the date the cabinet approves the new tariff, top officials at the energy ministry had told The News.

“The top functionaries of the Petroleum Division have so far planned not to spare even the protected residential consumers just to ensure a zero increase in monthly flow to the circular debt in the gas sector. The protected consumers falling in the first four slabs, utilising gas up to 0.25 HM3, 0.5 HM3, 0.6HM3 and 0.9hm3 may face an increase from Rs300 to less than Rs500 per MMBtu.”

Business

SFD and Pakistan Sign Two Deals Totaling $1.61BLN

Published

1 day ago

Farwa

Two agreements totaling $1.61 billion have been inked by Pakistan and the Saudi Fund for Development to improve their bilateral economic cooperation.

Business

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan sign an MOU to strengthen their auditing industry collaboration.

Published

1 day ago

Farwa

A spokesperson for the office of the Auditor-General of Pakistan (AGP) announced on Monday that the two countries have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen cooperation in public sector auditing through improved cooperation between audit institutions of both countries, as well as training programs and the exchange of trainers.

This comes as a group from Saudi Arabia’s General Court of Audit (GCA), headed by GCA President Dr. Hussam bin Abdulmohsen Alangari, arrived in Pakistan on Sunday for a four-day visit.

The agreement was signed during AGP Muhammad Ajmal Gondal’s meeting with the Saudi delegates, aiming to strengthen audit cooperation, enhance knowledge-sharing, and improve governance, transparency and accountability in government spending.

Public relations officer Muhammad Raza Irfan of the AGP’s office told Arab News that the deal will further advance bilateral collaboration between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in addition to enhancing professional ties between the two nations’ auditing institutions.

In a statement released from his office, AGP Gondal was cited as saying, “This collaboration marks a significant step toward fostering international cooperation in auditing.”

“The exchange of ideas and methodologies will undoubtedly strengthen our capacity to meet emerging challenges and set new benchmarks for public accountability.”

Discussions at Monday’s meeting focused on fostering closer ties between the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, sharing innovative audit methodologies, and planning collaborative initiatives for the future, according to the AGP office.

The two parties decided to increase their knowledge of theme, environmental, and impact audits as well as to exchange best practices in audit standards, performance audits, and citizen participation audits.

The statement added, “It also agreed to exchange trainers, address new auditing challenges, plan cooperative audits, including a performance audit on the oil and gas sector in 2025, and work together on training programs.”

Both sides reaffirmed their shared commitment to promoting transparency, accountability and excellence in public sector auditing.

Business

The government chooses to continue the PIA privatization process.

Published

1 day ago

Farwa

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) privatization process will be restarted by the federal government, and expressions of interest would be requested within the month. Officials stated that the Prime Minister’s Committee on Privatization will convene to make the final decision.

Usman Bajwa, the secretary of the Privatization Commission, gave a briefing on the updated procedure to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Privatization. Additionally, he disclosed that airlines other than PIA are now able to compete with regional carriers thanks to IMF-approved aircraft tax concessions.

Farooq Sattar, the chairman of the privatization committee, underlined the importance of giving PIA workers at least five years of job security. Employee protection will continue to be a top priority and will be resolved prior to bidding, the Privatization Commission promised.

PIA’s liabilities totaling Rs650 billion have already been assumed by the government, and an additional Rs45 billion in outstanding debts must be paid before the privatization process can begin. As of the now, PIA has assets around Rs155 billion and liabilities worth Rs200 billion. It will be necessary for the new buyer to expand the fleet by 15 to 20 aircraft.

Additionally, the Privatization Committee has sought a timeline for the privatization of Faisalabad, Gujranwala, and Islamabad Electric Supply Companies. Officials stated that after the appointment of a financial advisor, the privatization process for these companies will accelerate.