Strike on, strike off

Industrialists irked by power outages, assured by Sindh governor. 

KARACHI: Industrialists have rescinded an appeal for a strike on Wednesday on the back of assurances by Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad. The governor said that emergency measures would be taken to ensure the supply of electricity to industries and to improve industrial conditions.

Following the governor’s assurances, the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) decided not to go through with a strike on Wednesday.

Power tariff to be raised by 2pc a month

A joint delegation of IMF, World Bank and ADB called on Federal Minister for Water & Power Raja Pervez Ashraf in Islamabad.—Online

 

ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has criticised slow progress on taxation and power sector reforms and sought in two days a clear plan from the government about controlling the increasing fiscal deficit.

In the first round of policy discussions, a review mission of the IMF and World Bank headed by Adnan Mazarei held meetings on Monday with Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh on tax reforms and the macroeconomic situation and with Minister for Water and Power Raja Pervez Ashraf on power sector reforms.

Industries to shutdown in protest against power cuts

KARACHI: The representatives of the six industrial areas of Karachi have decided to observe a shutdown on Wednesday if the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) fails to restore uninterrupted supply by Tuesday.

The decision was taken at a joint meeting of the associations of the six industrial zones of Karachi, which took place at Korangi Association of Trade & Industry (KATI) on Saturday.

Chairmen of SITE Association of Industry, North Karachi Association of Trade & Industry, Federal B. Area Association of Trade & Industry, Landhi Association of Trade & Industry, Korangi Association of Trade & Industry, and SITE Super Highway Association of Trade & Industry represented their associations at the meeting besides others.

Power, petroleum ministries to be merged

A employee installs a new electricity tower in Karachi. -AFP File Photo

ISLAMABAD: With the oil import bill estimated to increase by about 300 per cent to $38 billion by 2015, the government has concurred with the Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FoDP) to merge the ministries of power and petroleum and their sectoral regulators for an integrated solution to the energy crisis.
The government has also agreed to substantially increase power tariff for domestic consumers using over 300 units per month to bring it on a par with the average tariff for industrial and commercial consumers.

Fuel cost declines but power tariff cut unlikely

ISLAMABAD: It may be possible to reduce the power tariff on May 1 by at least 65 paisa per unit on account of declining fuel costs, but the government is not likely to pass on this benefit to consumers because of a commitment made to the International Monetary Fund.
The government amended the Nepra Act of 1997 through finance bill 2009-10 under International Monetary Fund directives to pass on the impact of variation in fuel cost to consumers every month through a fuel adjustment formula. Over the past many months, the tariff has been continuously rising because of increase in oil prices in international markets.