NA body okays PPIB board bill: Loadshedding schedule for summer unveiled
Cities to face four to six hours power outages, six to eight hours for rural areas.
ISLAMABAD:
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Water and Power on Monday passed Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB) Bill, 2010 with the recommendation to get it approved from the Council of Common Interest (CCI).
The committee also approved an amendment moved by Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao seeking inclusion of one member each from provinces to be nominated from the private sector on the PPIB board.
The officials of the Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) briefed the committee on the loadshedding schedule for summer, saying that the urban population would face four to six hours loadshedding while in the rural areas it would be from six to eight hours.
The officials said that cement and textile sectors have been exempted from the loadshedding while in flour and ghee mills, there would be 4-hour loadshedding and commercial markets would face 5-hour loadshedding.
The committee expressed reservation over the 10-hour power outage to agriculture tubewells and asked the PEPCO to reduce it.
The panel was told that 850MW projects were being operated by the Rental Power Projects (RPPs) while rest have been shelved and the amount paid to these RPPs in advance has been taken back from them.
The government is giving Rs1.71 subsidy to the consumers on each power unit, the legislators were informed.
The committee was further informed that cases of Rs5.80 billion electricity thefts were registered in the last six months while collection of Rs1.10 billion was made during the period.
The PEPCO officials said that police were not taking action on the cases registered against the electricity thieves.
They further said that the gas exploration in Kohlu and Dera Bugti of Balochistan and Kohat and Hangu of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was suspended due to security situation and the concerned provinces were not ready to give clearance for the purpose.
The committee, however, summoned Interior Minister and Secretary Petroleum in its next meeting to brief it on the security situation on the gas exploration sites.
The committee members proposed a ban on the issuance of licences to the CNG stations and stated that LPG should be used in vehicles so that gas supply should be ensured to the industries.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 29th, 2011.
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Water and Power on Monday passed Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB) Bill, 2010 with the recommendation to get it approved from the Council of Common Interest (CCI).
The committee also approved an amendment moved by Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao seeking inclusion of one member each from provinces to be nominated from the private sector on the PPIB board.
The officials of the Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) briefed the committee on the loadshedding schedule for summer, saying that the urban population would face four to six hours loadshedding while in the rural areas it would be from six to eight hours.
The officials said that cement and textile sectors have been exempted from the loadshedding while in flour and ghee mills, there would be 4-hour loadshedding and commercial markets would face 5-hour loadshedding.
The committee expressed reservation over the 10-hour power outage to agriculture tubewells and asked the PEPCO to reduce it.
The panel was told that 850MW projects were being operated by the Rental Power Projects (RPPs) while rest have been shelved and the amount paid to these RPPs in advance has been taken back from them.
The government is giving Rs1.71 subsidy to the consumers on each power unit, the legislators were informed.
The committee was further informed that cases of Rs5.80 billion electricity thefts were registered in the last six months while collection of Rs1.10 billion was made during the period.
The PEPCO officials said that police were not taking action on the cases registered against the electricity thieves.
They further said that the gas exploration in Kohlu and Dera Bugti of Balochistan and Kohat and Hangu of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was suspended due to security situation and the concerned provinces were not ready to give clearance for the purpose.
The committee, however, summoned Interior Minister and Secretary Petroleum in its next meeting to brief it on the security situation on the gas exploration sites.
The committee members proposed a ban on the issuance of licences to the CNG stations and stated that LPG should be used in vehicles so that gas supply should be ensured to the industries.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 29th, 2011.