Pakistan's industrialists battle over gas prices as IMF pressure looms

islamabad news desk

The latest increase in gas prices has created a rift between industrialists of Punjab and Sindh, as the former has to pay almost three times more than their counterparts in Sindh. The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association-North has urged the government to adopt a uniform price of $7 per million British thermal unit (mmBtu), demanding that different gas rates for the export-oriented industrial units of Punjab and Sindh be abolished. The production of natural gas in Pakistan is mostly concentrated in Sindh, and this gives the province the right to use it first. However, the policy of charging different rates has been criticized as it causes one group of industrialists to be pitted against another, and is bad for investment.

Industrialists in Punjab have been demanding an electricity tariff of 9 cents and a gas tariff of $9/MMBtu to remain competitive in the international market. The closure of Punjab's textile industry could result in massive unemployment in the country, leading to further deterioration of the balance of payment crisis. The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association has argued that the country could lose $10 billion annually if the government withdraws the regionally competitive energy tariff (RCET). The sector has invested $5 billion over the last three years, and the textile sector surged to $19.5 billion in the financial year 2022 from $12.5 billion in FY2020. If the RCET is withdrawn, the robust growth of 55% in exports in FY22 and investment of $5 billion would go to waste, and the closure of the textile industry in Punjab would be inevitable.

To make matters worse, the export sector in Sindh enjoys a cost advantage of at least $575m per

NBP, State Life extend partnership in new verticals by offering bilateral financial solutions

Karachi pr

Islamabad: Experts stressed the need to take immediate measures to recover the loss of learning during floods and develop a flood-resilient education system to prevent disruption to education in such calamities. This was stressed during the launch of the report on the postfloods education situation in Pakistan, “Towards a Resilient Education Recovery from Pakistan’s Floods - Rapid Response Research,” published by Pakistan Coalition for Education (PCE) in collaboration with Education Champion Network (ECN). A high-level policy discussion also took place on the sidelines of the launch organized by PCE in collaboration with the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training (MOFEPT), Malala Fund, and ECN. Representatives from the World Bank, JICA, FCDO, International Rescue Committee (IRC), UNICEF, and the UNDP participated in the policy roundtable. pr

National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan (SLIC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for offering bilateral financial and insurance solutions. Both the national institutions vide this MOU agreed to enter into business arrangements that include “Employee Banking”, “Cash Management Services”, “Renaissance of Bancassurance Business” and “Individual and Group Life, Health and Savings products, etc.” The MOU was signed by Mr. Rehmat Ali Hasnie, President (A) NBP, and Mr. Shoaib Javed Hussain (Chairman, SLIC). Other senior executives of NBP and SLIC also witnessed the signing ceremony. year due to the price difference of $5 per mmBtu with export-oriented units based in Punjab. The cost disadvantage puts Punjab-based industrialists at a disadvantage, leading to unequal competition. The government's decision to increase gas prices was expected to stop the fresh build-up of the circular debt within the gas sector, but it appears that the objective is not yet achieved. Although the weighted average cost of gas will go up 43% to Rs885 from Rs620 per mmBtu, a substantial part of the domestic consumer base will remain shielded from the hike. The government has introduced the definition of "protected" consumers, which doesn't take climate differences across major cities into account, potentially leaving affluent households in Karachi that consume less than 90 cubic meters in the four winter months shielded from the hike, while households in Quetta or Islamabad might not.

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ccP applauds Nepra's decision to maintain net metering regulations

Islamabad: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has welcomed the decision of the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) to maintain the existing NEPRA (Alternative & Renewable Energy) Distributed Generation and Net Metering Regulation, 2015. The decision comes after NEPRA proposed amendments to the net metering regulations, which raised concerns over competition.

The proposed amendments would have replaced the National Average Power Purchase Price (NAPP) with the National Average Energy Purchase Price (NAEPP), resulting in a decrease in the amount payable to distributed generators/ prosumers (consumers/customers who both produce and consumes electricity). CCP had reservations over the proposed amendments and conveyed its concerns to NEPRA in Nov 2022. NEPRA assured to give due consideration to all stakeholders' views before reaching a decision on the proposed amendments. pr