ISLAMABAD - The government has decided that there will be no load shedding during Sehri and Iftar in Ramazan, even in the high losses areas, and directed the Power Division to ensure uninterrupted supply of power in this regard.
The decision was made by the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCOE) which has also expressed concern over complaints of longer duration of load shedding in rural areas and asked the Power Division to adopt a uniform policy for load management in urban and rural areas and no discrimination should be made in this regard.
The meeting of Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCOE) was chaired by Asad Umar. The committee decided that there would be no load shedding during Sehri and Iftar in Ramazan and directed the Power Division to ensure uninterrupted supply of power in this regard.
Cabinet Committee on Energy asks Power Division to adopt uniform policy for load management in urban, rural areas
Uninterrupted power will be supplied to the high loss areas in Sehri and Iftar in Ramazan and the extra electricity provided during these timings will be adjusted through load management in other part of the day, an official source in the Power Division told The Nation here Thursday. The source said that power division briefed the committee about the demand and supply of electricity during summer. Starting from May till August the generation will be 21,000 MW and the peak demand will be 27,000 MW. However the source said that average demand will be 22,000 MW.
The CCOE was informed that to meet the summer demand of the electricity they will be requiring 8,000 tonne of oil and 950 mmcfd of LNG. The source said that they had brought down the outstanding dues of the PSO to Rs103 billion from Rs292 billion
Meanwhile, a press statement issued here stated that the Petroleum Division had informed the CCOE that it needed 350,000 metric tonne furnace oil to meet energy requirements of the country for months from May-June 2019. The committee decided to place the matter for approval before Federal Cabinet to allow one time import of furnace oil.
The Power Division presented its internal audit report on quarterly indexation by NEPRA. The report found that NEPRA had used high exchange rates during determination of quarterly indexation. The committee asked the Power Division to ascertain from the regulator whether it had judicially applied its mind while determining the exchange rates. The regulator should also be asked to indicate remedial measures for rectifying the mistake for the future and to determine how the losses incurred, if any, could be made good.
Power Division briefed the committee about its successful recovery campaign being carried out against the defaulters.
It informed that the recovery campaign had successfully achieved its objectives by collecting Rs318,264 million from November 2018 to February 2019 and arresting 4,225 defaulters. CCOoE was also updated on Renewable Energy Policy, 2019 and was informed that the draft policy had been circulated among relevant quarters and would be submitted to the Cabinet in the first half of May 2019.
