As power shortfall hits 3,955 megawatts (MW) followed by interruptions in oil and gas supplies due to recent heavy monsoons causing prolonged power outages, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has called for a special meeting of the Cabinet on Wednesday (today) to review different steps to overcome the energy crisis.
According to the agenda of the meeting, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, the government has also decided to shelve the plan of privatising motels and a restaurant of the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) on which the Cabinet is expected to take a decision to exclude it from the privatisation list.
It was also scheduled to give a go-ahead to the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Pakistan and the Russian Federation for mutual defence cooperation.
Government also seeks to initiate the negotiation process on the Trilateral Transit Trade Agreement among Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. The Cabinet is expected to accord the approval of initiating negotiations for the trilateral agreement.
In June 2012, President Asif Ali Zardari and the Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmonov agreed to enhance economic cooperation by strengthening regional connectivity through road, air and rail links under the trilateral agreement during the sideline meeting in Beijing on occasion of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit.
According to a senior government official, the Ministry of Water and Power will give a presentation on the current energy situation.
As of Monday, total power generation was 11,045MW against the demand of 15,000MW with a power shortfall of 3,955MW.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Water and Power, gas supply curtailment occurred due to rain water flooding at the Qadirpur gas field. Only 57 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of gas was allocated for Halmore, Sapphire and Saif power plants.
Power generation from Guddu power plant reduced to 545MW against 1,100MW, due to rain water accumulation at the plant. Engro Energy was not generating any power due to tripping at the Qadirpur gas field. Disruption in oil transports due to heavy rains in various areas of the country also capped power generation activity.
The issue of circular debt will also be discussed at the Cabinet meeting. The Ministry of Finance recently issued term finance certificates worth Rs82 billion to control the spiralling circular debt.
Cabinet is also expected to accord approval to sign agreement on promotion and protection of investment with the Economic Cooperation Organization member states. Presentation on inflation in the country to oversee the trend of prices of essential commodities were also on agenda.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 26th, 2012.
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