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