Energy plan: provinces to be taken on board

The government has decided to take provinces on board to implement its energy plan approved by the Cabinet on October 12, 2011 after Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhawa governments declared not to execute the decision of the Cabinet, well informed sources in the petroleum ministry told Business Recorder.
Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif had announced publicly that as the federal government did not take the provincial government on board, hence it is not mandatory for the latter to implement the decision. The Cabinet of KP has also decided not to implement the energy plan.
While approving the plan, the Cabinet has assigned the Cabinet Committee on Restructuring of Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) with the responsibility of monitoring the implementation of the decisions with reference to restructuring of the concerned power-related enterprises. The Cabinet decided that a committee comprising minister for finance, minister for religious affairs, minister for water and power and minister for Kashmir affairs will formulate practical recommendations in consultation with the main energy committee on load management along with timing of supply of electricity to the agriculture tube-wells. The committee will submit its report in next Cabinet meeting.
Sources said the committee has not met once nor framed recommendations to present before the Cabinet despite passage of almost one and half month. Prime Minister Gilani at a recent Cabinet meeting complained that his ministers are not taking the Cabinet meetings seriously and directed them not to take further liberty in future.
However, the ministers are still defiant as is witnessed in the case of energy committee, which is dealing with energy issues including implementation on load management plan. The Cabinet while according its approval to the energy conservation and load management plan proposed by the said committee directed the committee to monitor progress reports for consideration of the Cabinet.
According to official documents, the Cabinet was informed on November 16, 2011 that no meeting of the committee could be held because of the pre-scheduled commitments abroad of the members. The Cabinet directed the energy committee to work out a practical formula for resolving the circular debt issues also taking into account the recommendations framed by the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources in this regard and come up with a meaningful report in the next meeting.
According to official documents, circular debt soared to Rs 664.5 billion in November. The issue of payables of Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) which has not been resolved as per the much talked about plan, shows that the payables jumped to Rs 367 billion in November as compared to Rs 220 billion on July 1, 2011.
The amount of receivables has crossed Rs 296 billion in the first quarter of current fiscal year. The Pepco''s receivables of Rs 296.55 billion included Rs 13.8 billion from federal government and its attached departments. In addition, Pepco''s receivables from the federal government included Rs 0.40 billion federal government share in AJK receivables, Rs 0.97 billion subsidy on agriculture tube wells at the rate of 12.50 percent by the federal government and another Rs 5.08 billion on account of 40 percent electricity subsidy to agriculture in Balochistan.
The Cabinet has decided that the energy committee will also benefit from the viewpoint of the minister for overseas Pakistanis with special reference to KESC affairs. The Cabinet also decided to include minister for petroleum in the other committee constituted to resolve the issue of load management and supply of electricity to agriculture tube-wells and the committee was directed to present its report in the next meeting of the Cabinet. The Cabinet directed the committee to interact with the provincial governments and other stakeholders to help evolve a consensus for implementation of the energy plan as approved by the Cabinet on October 12, 2011.