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Power generation cost surges 20% year-on-year in Nov amid drop in cheap energy

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  • Higher cost mainly due to decline in nuclear, wind-based generation.
  • Fuel cost for local coal-based generation increased by 55% y/y.
  • Rising cost of power generation added to consumers’ woes.

KARACHI: Amid a drop in nuclear and renewable energy sources, the country’s power generation cost jumped by nearly 20% year-on-year in November as the country relied more on expensive fossil fuels, The News reported citing data from a brokerage house on Thursday.

The average cost of electricity production rose to Rs7.17 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) last month, compared with Rs5.99 a year earlier, an increase of 19.7%, according to Arif Habib Limited (AHL).

The brokerage house said the higher fuel cost was mainly due to a decline in nuclear, wind and solar-based generation, which are cheaper and cleaner than coal, gas and oil. 

“Additionally, the fuel cost for local coal-based generation increased by 55% year-on-year. Along with this, the fuel cost for Regasified Liquid Natural Gas (RLNG) and gas-based also increased by 17% year-on-year and 38% year-on-year, respectively,” it added.

The rising cost of power generation has added to the woes of Pakistan’s consumers, who are already grappling with high inflation and sluggish economic growth. 

However, on a monthly basis, the power generation cost fell 13.2% in November, as compared to an average cost of Rs8.26 in October, when the country faced a severe gas shortage that forced it to use more expensive furnace oil for electricity production.

Power generation in the country dropped 9.8 % year-on-year to 7,547 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in November, down from 8,367 GWh a year ago. The year-on-year decrease in power generation was mainly due to a 32.8% fall in nuclear power output, which stood at 1,572 GWh in November.

Apart from nuclear, the year-on-year decrease was also attributed to a decline in RLNG (21.1%), gas (41.5%), and wind (6.2%) generation. On a monthly basis, power generation decreased by 21.2%, as compared to 9,572 GWh in October.

During the first five months of the current fiscal year (July-November), power generation increased by 1.8 %year-on-year to 61,258 GWh, compared with 60,153 GWh in the same period last year.

In November, hydel was the leading source of power generation, accounting for 36.5% of the generation mix, followed by nuclear (20.8%) and local coal (13.1%).

Among renewables, wind, solar and bagasse generation amounted to 2%, 0.7% and 0.4% of the generation, respectively.

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

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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.

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Weekly inflation in Pakistan increased by 0.17 percent.

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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.

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The price of gold has drastically dropped in Pakistan.

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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.

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