Power Division directed to continue reducing circular debt

Energy minister says thanks to the effective govt measures, the circular debt has declined significantly

ISLAMABAD:

The Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) on Thursday directed the Power Division to continue with its efforts for the reduction of circular debt.

The CCoE met here with Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar in the chair with ministers for energy, maritime affairs, railways, and science and technology in attendance. Representatives of regulatory authorities and officials of the provincial governments also participated in the meeting.

The Petroleum Division presented the implementation status of recommendations of the Report of the Inquiry Committee constituted to probe into the shortage of petroleum products in the country in June 2020.

The CCoE noted the progress made on the recommendations so far and directed that the remaining actions for implementation of recommendations of the committee be taken expeditiously.

The committee also directed the Federal Investigation Agency to update the committee in its next meeting on the progress of its investigations assigned to it by the cabinet.

The Power Division presented the Circular Debt Report from July 2020 to May 2021. The committee noted that the circular debt build-up had substantially reduced in comparison to the previous years.

“Thanks to the effective government measures, the circular debt has declined significantly as compared to the previous financial year,” Hammad Azhar, the energy minister, said in a series of tweets after the meeting.

On electricity load shedding, Azhar said, “Due to dry docking of one RLNG terminal and low water flows in Tarbela Dam, some power plants are not operating at full capacity. This has led to load shedding on some feeders. However, dry docking procedure will be completed on Monday and water levels in Tarbela are improving.

“Power generation will improve by Monday as RLNG supply is restored. We also expect Tarbela Dam, currently operating at only 25% of capacity, to start generating more power by next week and normalise the situation.”

On gas shortfall, he said, “Effective shortfall in SSGC (Sui Southern Gas Company) local gas network is now only eight mmcft out of a total of 1,150 mmcft. This is made possible by timely completion of annual turnover/maintenance of KPD gas field and planned enhancement in supplies from other fields.”