No decision yet on creation of energy ministry

Row between power ministry, Planning Commission comes in way.

ISLAMABAD:

The proposal for creating an energy ministry has remained undecided so far after a controversy erupted between the water and power ministry and the Planning Commission over hosting an energy summit.

Sources told The Express Tribune that Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani had tasked the Planning Commission with holding the energy summit in an attempt to take unbiased decisions on energy conservation but the water and power ministry intervened to take the matter into its hands.

This delayed the holding of the conference, which the Commission had set for May 25 and then for May 31, sources said. According to them, the prime minister this time asked the Commission to organise the summit as the power ministry after the energy conference last year did not give a clear picture to the prime minister about the decisions taken.

Citing an example, they said though the petroleum ministry had not agreed to allocate all gas from new discoveries to the power sector, the power ministry told the prime minister that the former had acceded to the proposal.

Sources said the Commission had also held pre-summit deliberations on May 10 to work out proposals to be tabled before the energy conference later in the month. The pre-summit conference was attended by all stakeholders including power and textile sectors and officials of the ministries of petroleum and water and power.

In the pre-summit deliberations, it was decided that an energy ministry would be created by merging the petroleum and water and power ministries and the proposal would be tabled before the energy summit scheduled for May 25.

All stakeholders, including power and textile sectors, sought one-window service through the energy ministry to resolve issues and attract investors.

Sources said independent power producers, textile and fertiliser sectors demanded long-term government guarantees relating to provision of gas to ensure security of their investment in Pakistan.

Stakeholders also aired concern over delay in resolving their issues. “We have to move from one ministry (petroleum) to other ministry (water and power) to deal with our issues,” a source quoted the stakeholders as saying.

During the deliberations, sources added, private sector investors expressed concern over the performance of chief executive officers of power distribution companies and demanded that professionals should be hired in place of them to improve services.

It was proposed that gas should be diverted from inefficient power plants to efficient sectors. It was also discussed that the price of gas should be brought on a par with other fuels and power subsidy should be reduced.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 11^th, 2011.