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  Chairman APTMA urges PM to cancel controversial agreements with IPPs LAHORE: Chairman All Pakistan Textile Mill Association (APTMA) North Kamran Arshad has urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to cancel controversial agreements with Independent Power Producers (IPPs) forthwith and save the industry from a total collapse, particularly the export-oriented textile industry. He was addressing a press conference at the APTMA Lahore office. Senior APTMA North members and Secretary General APTMA Mohammad Raza Baqir were also present on the occasion. He pointed out that the textile industry exports have registered four percent drop in the month of June 2024 compared with the corresponding period. The exports of textile industry are dwindling down fast due to the absence of Regionally Competitive Energy Tariff (RCET) of 9 cents/kWh, he said, adding that the industry was forced to pay 16 cents/kWh due to the exorbitant production cost of energy in the country. He lamented that the e...

 Pakistan's energy sector is full of mismatches and blunders which no other country can think of: - reducing local gas production to accommodate imported LNG in pipelines  - sitting on Thar coal for 25 years and then setting up large size power plants based on imported coal even after successful commissioning of Engro power plant in Thar - Increasing generation capacity to 45,000 MW with no required enhancement of transmission capacity - Decades of delay in exploiting hydal generation potential by becoming hostage to Kalabagh dam ; what stopped us from starting Bhasha and Dassu projects much earlier? - Continued addition of thermal power plants and that too on imported fuels by all regimes under power policies of 1994, 2002, 2015 and even earlier. - transmission & distribution losses in both power and gas - dismally poor recoveries - retrogressive E&P policies hindering aggressive exploration and foreign companies leaving - blaming capacity payments to IPPs for the hig...

 ▪ There is no instant gratification ▪ Lesson: Turnaround requires time, patience, and endurance ▪ Instead of a big bang hopium based approach, sustained efforts by an effective empowered leadership team is required, to manage the SOEs based on principle of working for profit and not being bailed out beyond 3 years. ▪ Although, privatization success stories in banking and of K-Electric have been a game changer, it is increasingly apparent and necessary to catalyse SOEs disinvestment under a P3P mode of implementation and by reviving PIDC. ▪ This disruptive approach of reviving PIDC is essential especially given our history of privatization being a long drawn process e.g disinvestment of HEC was in fifth attempt after 14 years! ▪ Shares of the 207 SOEs be placed under a “Revived PIDC” ▪ Each SOE be then placed into verticals (holding companies) e.g a) refinery, E&P, OMC, Gas, Coal; b) Power generation, DISCOs and transmission; c) Industry, Fertilizer, Minerals; Media and Communi...

 Power tariffs for industrial consumers have been restructured to reduce the incidence of cross-subsidies to other power consumers. The variable component of the base tariff has been reduced from Rs. 32.03/kWh to Rs. 25.94/kWh during off-peak hours and from Rs. 37.83/kWh to Rs. 35.24/kWh during peak hours. However, considering various surcharges and the fixed charge yields a final power tariff ranging from Rs. 42.11/kWh (15.1 cents/kWh) to Rs. 48.59/kWh (17.42 cents/kWh), depending on actual consumption.  The effective variable charge, considering various surcharges is as follows: Table 2. Breakdown of Industrial B3 Power Tariff Variable Component (Rs/kWh)  CURRENT PROJECTED OFF-PEAK HOURS 32.03 25.94 PEAK HOURS 37.83 35.24 AVERAGE 33.48 28.265 QTA-2 2.75 2.75 QTA-3  1.9 FC SURCHARGE 3.23 3.23 FPA (MAY 2024) 2.84 2.84 ELECTRICITY DUTY 0.35 0.35 TOTAL (SURCHARGES) 9.17 11.07 EFFECTIVE VARIABLE CHARGE FOR B3 (BEFORE REBASING AND TARIFF RATIONALIZATION) 42.65 39.335 EFF...