Govt to release Rs20b for fuel supply to power plants

Meeting agrees on a short-term plan to reduce power outages.

ISLAMABAD:

The Ministry of Finance has agreed to release Rs20 billion that will be provided to Pakistan State Oil (PSO) for increasing furnace oil supply to help power plants improve production and reduce outages to eight hours a day until general elections.

According to sources, Caretaker Prime Minister Justice (Retired) Mir Hazar Khan Khoso, in a meeting held here on Tuesday, was told that marketing giant PSO needed Rs30 billion to arrange fuel for power plants to enable them to produce maximum electricity.

At present, urban and rural areas are facing 12 and 18 hours of load-shedding respectively. Officials told the PM that outages could be brought down to eight hours a day if the required funds were provided for oil purchase.

The premier agreed that the finance ministry would release Rs20 billion in two equal installments – first before the end of April and second in the first week of May.

The remaining Rs10 billion, out of Rs30 billion, will be arranged by PSO and power companies from their own sources.

The prime minister said this was a short-term plan to control power outages before the elections on May 11 and a long-term plan would be prepared next month.

According to an official handout issued here, a high-level meeting was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Khoso at the PM House to review the power situation in the country.

The meeting was a follow-up to an earlier one held last week in connection with excessive outages.

It also discussed concerns of the Punjab chief minister over load-shedding in the province.

Representatives of the Ministry of Water and Power said power plants were producing around 9,000 megawatts compared to demand for over 12,500MW. They presented a plan for making available oil and gas, so that thermal power plants in the public and private sectors could operate at maximum capacity.

In this connection, the Ministry of Finance was asked to provide additional funds for supply of oil to the thermal power plants. The ministry agreed to release Rs10 billion with a promise that a similar amount would be provided as and when required.

The prime minister ordered the ministries of finance, petroleum and water and power to maintain close coordination among themselves in order to promptly address any issue that hampered power production.

The meeting was attended by Water and Power Minister Dr Musadik Malik, Petroleum Minister Sohail Wajahat H Siddiqui, Finance Adviser Dr Shahid Amjad Chaudhry and senior officials of the ministries of finance, water and power, petroleum and the Prime Minister’s Secretariat.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 17^th, 2013.

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