LAHORE: Taking action over adding public complaints about loadshedding across the country, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday ordered an early resumption of power generation from the shops closed due to colorful executive and specialized issues.
The high minister sought a detailed report from the power division pressing the reasons behind loadshedding, its result and measures taken by the government so far. He also directed the authorities concerned to snappily resolve the issues concerning provision of drinking water and agrarian installations, including force of acceptable water for irrigation purposes, to the businesses and enable the Indus River System Authority( Irsa) to take opinions in discussion with the businesses.
“ The( power) shops, which aren’t in operation these days, must be operated with immediate effect in a shot to end loadshedding and give relief to the public at large, ” PM Sharif ordered at a high- position meeting in Lahore.
The meeting, which was attended by Finance Minister Miftah Ismail, Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Energy Khurram Dastgir, Minister of State for Petroleum Musaddaq Malik, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, former premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Special Assistant to the PM on Public Policy and Strategic Communication Khurram Hussain, bandied the power extremity and suggested colorful measures to resolve it.
The ministers concerned briefed the meeting on the causes behind loadshedding which, according to them, are due to acts of elision and commission by the former PTI government.
The meeting was told that two power systems Karot Hydro and Shanghai Thar — were delayed, first on account of lack of power and monitoring and also because of failure to fulfil contractual commitments on formerly completed systems, therefore delaying fiscal close.
The government’s failure to open Revolving Account for the completed systems like Sahiwal Coal and Hub Power meant no farther backing for the energy sector under the CPEC marquee. The former government also didn’t understand the CPEC’s energy frame as it was simply out there to strangle and decelerate it.
Another high- effectiveness design — Punjab Thermal RLNG Power Plant at Trimmu, Jhang(,263 MW) — was also delayed for further than three times by the PTI government.
Had these three systems(,200 MW) been completed on time, loadshedding in civic corridor of the country would not have been witnessed despite high energy prices in the transnational request, the meeting was told.
The high minister was informed that during the Covid- 19 epidemic(mid-2020), RLNG prices went far lower in the transnational request, but that occasion of buying RLNG at$ 3- 5 per MMBTU wasn’t profited by the also government and no long- term contract was made. Had similar contract been inked, the consumers would have paid much lower electricity bills.
On indirect debt, PM Sharif was informed that it stood at Rs1.152 trillion in June 2018, which rose to Rs2.467 tr in March 2022, an increase of 114 per cent, despite major injection out of taxpayers ’ plutocrat. One of the major causes of this rapid-fire rise in indirect debt is deprecation of the rupee from Rs115 per bone to Rs191 under the watch of the PTI government and under the caretaker arrangement which was put in place before that.
It was farther revealed that under the executed LNG force contracts with Qatar Petroleum/ Qatar Energy, the state- run PSO imported 5 2 LNG loadings, whereas PLL is left with one LNG force contract with ENI Italy as the other supplier — M/ s Guvnor — precociously terminated the contract in April 2022, following a series of harmonious dereliction in force of loadings since time 2021.
PM Sharif, who formerly led public demurrers in Lahore against loadshedding during the PPP- led government before 2013, heard and bandied issues in depth and directed the actors to make sweats to overcome the energy extremity in the country.
PM meets Shujaat
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday called PML- Q chairman Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain to interrogate about his health and bandied matters of collective interest and the prevailing political situation in the country.
Though there was no sanctioned word neither from the government nor from the media cell of the PML- Q leader, a media website reported that Mr Hussain lauded PM Sharif for fastening on husbandry in the civil budget.
The PML- Q chairman said the coalition government did practical work for the growers, besides taking measures to offer direct benefit to the consumers. He also stressed that the government should take enterprise to grow crop seeds in Pakistan rather of importing them.
Federal minister Salik Hussain, parochial minister Malik Ahmad Khan and Chaudhry Shafay Hussain were present in the meeting.
