PAAPAM takes exception to prolonged power outages

Chairman Pakistan Association of Automotive Parts and Accessories Manufacturers (PAAPAM), Syed Nabeel Hashmi on Saturday took strong exception to prolonged power outages and over-billing. He suggested the centre to transfer responsibility of power distribution and management system to provinces which is the best possible solution to rid the country of prevailing energy crisis.
PAAPAM Chairman in a statement on Saturday said that after the 18th Amendment, though the provinces had the authority to generate power, yet it was of no use since the electricity produced first goes to the national grid system and then it was supplied to consumers through power distribution companies.
He said the federal government, which presently controlled the load management as well as power distribution system, continued to penalise those consumers, who pay their bills regularly, by imposing fuel adjustment surcharge (FAS). In view of enhancing revenue and checking power theft, he opined that load management and distribution structure must not be with the centre, advising the authorities to allocate electricity load to each province as per the payment, besides distributing power at local level.
He asked the government to devise such a scheme which ensured steady supply for those who pay their bills regularly. This step by the government would discourage the culture of power theft and non-payment of bills, besides increasing revenue to get rid of the circular debt, which had enslaved the whole energy system in the country. He urged the government to allocate funds in the forthcoming budget for new power projects and construction of new dams to generate cheap and sufficient electricity.
The PAAPAM chairman warned the government of massive layoffs and industrial closures if it failed to immediately stop 10 to 12 hours of power outages in industrial areas. He urged the government to share its future energy plan with industrial bodies because the highest-ever electricity tariff and more than 12 hours of power outages have crippled trade and industry.
He said that the industry needed a continuous supply of electricity to keep the units operational and to complete the export orders well within the given timeframe but only because of the shortage of electricity the exports were not up to the mark. PAAPAM Vice Chairman Munir K Bana said that Pakistan had already lost a number of international markets and now the prolonged power cuts would further aggravate the situation.