Business

Gas will only be available for eight hours in winter: power minister

Published

10 months ago

Farwa

Loadshedding plan being devised to ensure gas supply for eight hours: minister.
Says natural gas reserves further depleted by 18% compared to last year.
Rs16 billion had been collected from electricity defaulters so far, says Ali.

Caretaker Power Minister Muhammad Ali has said that gas will only be available for eight hours in the winters amid depleting natural gas reserves in the country.

“[Gas] loadshedding has been taking place for the last few years. The loadshedding will occur this year as well because we don’t have enough gas to supply it for 24 hours,” the interim minister said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Wednesday.

Like last year, the minister said the loadshedding plan was being devised to ensure a gas supply for eight hours. He said the natural gas reserves have further depleted by 18 % compared to the last year.

Power Minister Ali also expressed hope that the issue of gas shortage for industry in December will be resolved to a greater extent as two liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes have been finalised.

The minister said despite various constraints, all-out efforts were being made to ensure the availability of gas to domestic, industrial and fertilizer sectors with minimum gas load management in the coming winter season.

“We have only two LNG terminals and limited natural gas but today we have finalised two LNG cargoes for December, which would help address the gas supply issues in December for the industry. The gas supply was also being improved for the fertilizer sector, he added.

Speaking about ongoing crackdown on power thieves, the minister said an amount of Rs16 billion had been collected from electricity defaulters so far during the ongoing crackdown, which would further continue.

He said it had been decided to change the board of directors (BoDs) of all the power distribution companies (DISCOs).

The management of DISCOs would be handed over to the private sector on long-term concession, he added.

Earlier this week, The News reported that the Petroleum Division was in the process of giving the final touches to a summary to increase the gas tariff, which will be tabled in the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) meeting for approval

After ratification by the federal cabinet, the government will notify the new gas prices not from July 1, 2023 but from the date the cabinet approves the new tariff, top officials at the energy ministry had told The News.

“The top functionaries of the Petroleum Division have so far planned not to spare even the protected residential consumers just to ensure a zero increase in monthly flow to the circular debt in the gas sector. The protected consumers falling in the first four slabs, utilising gas up to 0.25 HM3, 0.5 HM3, 0.6HM3 and 0.9hm3 may face an increase from Rs300 to less than Rs500 per MMBtu.”

Business

An investigation was “launched” into PTA’s inability to get Rs. 78 billion back from Telcos

Published

15 hours ago

Farwa

The PTA has reportedly been instructed to reply to NAB by July 29. According to the enquiry, the national exchequer has suffered losses as a result of the delay in collecting dues.

The PTA has been asked to provide NAB with information about any pertinent records, court proceedings, and overdue bills. The NAB Karachi has summoned the PTA officials to appear with all pertinent documentation.

All of the principle sum has to be paid by the LDI firms, according to sources. But due to judicial stay orders, the collection of dues has been impeded.

These sources further state that a steering group has been established by the Ministry of IT to supervise the issue of dues recovery.

In a previous event, the tariffs levied on importing cell phones from outside were clarified by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

Contrary to what some internet reports claim, PTA clarified in response to recent news regarding the tariffs on mobile phone imports that there hasn’t been a formal decision to remove these levies in Pakistan.

the PTA.Pakistanis living abroad will be the only ones free from these levies, according to the PTA. A SIM card can be inserted and the phone restarted to temporarily register a device for non-PTA mobile subscribers.

Business

Weekly inflation in Pakistan increased by 0.17 percent.

Published

15 hours ago

Farwa

The SPI for the week under review in the aforementioned group was reported at 321.95 points, as opposed to 321.40 points during the previous week, according to the PBS statistics.

The SPI for the combined consumption group saw a 20.09 percent increase in the week under review compared to the same week the previous year.

The weekly SPI includes 51 necessary items for every spending group and 17 urban areas, with a base year of 2015–16 = 100.

The SPI for the lowest consumption category, which is up to Rs 17,732, grew by 0.08 percent from 311.97 points to 312.22 points this past week.

0.18 percent,The index of consumption for the lowest consumption groups, which are Rs 17,732-22,888, Rs 22,889-29,517, Rs 29,518-44,175 and above Rs 44,175; increased by 0.13 percent, 0.15 percent, 0.18 and 0.19 percent, respectively.

Nineteen (37.25%) of the fifty-one commodities had price increases over the week, eight (15.69%) had price decreases, and twenty-four (47.06%) had unchanged pricing.

On a weekly basis, the following commodities saw significant price decreases: tomatoes (9.19%), onions (2.14%), LPG (1.04%), bananas (0.53%), wheat flour (0.35%), potatoes (0.17%), pulse masoor (0.16%), and bread (0.05%).

Chicken (4.80%), garlic (2.01%), pulse gramme (1.87%), eggs (1.71%), beef (0.93%), gur (0.89%), pulse moong (0.84%), fresh milk (0.45%), firewood (0.23%), and cigarettes (0.12%) were among the items whose average prices increased significantly week over week.

The commodities that saw a year-over-year decline were: wheat flour (31.75%); cooking oil (13.44%); vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (10.42%); vegetable ghee 1 kg (9.85%); mustard oil (8.33%); eggs (5.82%); rice basmati broken (4.15%); and tea package (2.52%).

Gas prices for Q1 (570.00%), onions (96.01%), pulse gramme (40.39%), powered milk (39.11%), garlic (34.61%), pulse moong (29.77%), men’s sandals (25.01%), beef (23.52%), salt powder (23.28%), pulse mash (22.50%), and energy saver (17.96%) were among the commodities whose average prices increased year over year.

Business

The price of gold has drastically dropped in Pakistan.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

As per the All-Pakistan Gems and Jewellers Sarafa Association (APGJSA), the cost of 24-karat gold per tola decreased by Rs 2,300, standing at Rs 250,500.

A kilogramme of 24-karat gold costing Rs1,972 less at the local market, making it worth Rs2114,763. Ten grammes of 22-karat gold had a price decrease to Rs196,866 as well.

After losing a significant $43 during the day, the rate per ounce of gold on the international market also decreased. It currently stands at $2,370.

On Thursday, the price of 24-karat silver also experienced a decline, falling by Rs60 to settle at Rs2,860 petal.