Annual field maintenance: No additional gas supply to power plants
Petroleum ministry says it will only meet contractual commitments.
Gas producers were planning annual maintenance of fields during September and October, as a result companies may not be able to divert any additional gas supply to power plants except for meeting contractual commitments. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources has refused to increase gas supply to power companies and will provide gas to only those power plants that have agreements with the government.
Gas producers were planning annual maintenance of fields during September and October, as a result companies may not be able to divert any additional gas supply to power plants except for meeting contractual commitments, the petroleum ministry said in a letter sent to the Ministry of Water and Power on September 9.
Owing to gas shortage and reduced supply, power plants increasingly rely on costly furnace oil for production, leading to a rise in inter-corporate debt that has crossed Rs129 billion.
According to officials of the water and power ministry, the circular debt is building up again as the government is still picking up the difference between the cost of power production and the price charged from consumers.
“Power ministry figures showed that the debt stood at Rs129 billion in the power sector as on August 31 this year,” an official said. It further increased in September, he added.
In the letter, the petroleum ministry stressed that it was meeting all contractual obligations for providing gas to the power plants.
“It is important to mention that GTPS (Guddu Thermal Power Station) is being continuously offered 244 million cubic feet of gas per day from Kandhkot, Mari Deep and Chachar fields, which is not being fully utilised by the power plant,” it said, asking the water and power ministry to ensure full consumption of available gas by the power station before seeking additional supply.
With regard to four independent power plants (IPPs) – Orient, Saif, Sapphire and Halmore, the ministry clarified that gas was being provided to urea plants to ensure production of much-needed fertiliser to meet the requirement of farmers.
Talking to The Express Tribune, IPP Advisory Council Chairman Abdullah Yousuf said the four IPPs with a combined power generation capacity of 880 megawatts had not been receiving gas for the last few weeks. They got only partial supplies for some time.
He blamed bad governance for failure of the power sector to recover entire electricity bills from consumers.
“The power sector is able to recover 82% of total bills and this low recovery is a major issue that is pushing up circular debt again,” he said, adding the government would have to find a concrete solution to the issue.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 24th, 2013.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources has refused to increase gas supply to power companies and will provide gas to only those power plants that have agreements with the government.
Gas producers were planning annual maintenance of fields during September and October, as a result companies may not be able to divert any additional gas supply to power plants except for meeting contractual commitments, the petroleum ministry said in a letter sent to the Ministry of Water and Power on September 9.
Owing to gas shortage and reduced supply, power plants increasingly rely on costly furnace oil for production, leading to a rise in inter-corporate debt that has crossed Rs129 billion.
According to officials of the water and power ministry, the circular debt is building up again as the government is still picking up the difference between the cost of power production and the price charged from consumers.
“Power ministry figures showed that the debt stood at Rs129 billion in the power sector as on August 31 this year,” an official said. It further increased in September, he added.
In the letter, the petroleum ministry stressed that it was meeting all contractual obligations for providing gas to the power plants.
“It is important to mention that GTPS (Guddu Thermal Power Station) is being continuously offered 244 million cubic feet of gas per day from Kandhkot, Mari Deep and Chachar fields, which is not being fully utilised by the power plant,” it said, asking the water and power ministry to ensure full consumption of available gas by the power station before seeking additional supply.
With regard to four independent power plants (IPPs) – Orient, Saif, Sapphire and Halmore, the ministry clarified that gas was being provided to urea plants to ensure production of much-needed fertiliser to meet the requirement of farmers.
Talking to The Express Tribune, IPP Advisory Council Chairman Abdullah Yousuf said the four IPPs with a combined power generation capacity of 880 megawatts had not been receiving gas for the last few weeks. They got only partial supplies for some time.
He blamed bad governance for failure of the power sector to recover entire electricity bills from consumers.
“The power sector is able to recover 82% of total bills and this low recovery is a major issue that is pushing up circular debt again,” he said, adding the government would have to find a concrete solution to the issue.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 24th, 2013.