Power-reliant textile mills: ‘Tariff gap’ termed cause of concern

RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: Tariff gap is a cause of concern for the power-reliant textile mills, paying Rs12 per unit in a situation when the cost of each unit is around Rs6 for the mills busy in self-generation of electricity through gas supply from the system.

But the problem is that the power-reliant mills are note more than 20 percent of the total and rest of the 80 percent mills have switched over to self-generation of electricity through gas supply from the system after investing millions of rupees in the installation of Captive Power Plants (CPPs) since 2002 and around.

The power-reliant mills, however, are having a strong feeling that they are paying through their nose until the government ensures an equal opportunity to grow by equalizing the tariff both for them and gas-fed mills. If not possible, they add, the government should divert gas supply of CPPs to the government-owned Generation Companies (GENCOs) and supply electricity to the whole of industry without tariff discrimination.

Majority of the power-reliant mills are closed at present due to tariff problems coupled with unprecedented loadshedding, haunting the industrial growth since November 2007. Not only this, these mills are also defaulting on bank payments one after another, remaining clueless as how they can get out of this quagmire.

Unfortunately, these 20 percent of the total industry are financially weak to the extent that they are not able to lobby for their rights. The APTMA sources, on the other hand, have informed that the APTMA had invited all the power-reliant textile millers a few months back to take suggestions as how the APTMA should proceed further on the issue.

The APTMA leadership had urged these millers to remain active on the platform of the association to exert required pressure on the government.

The APTMA leadership had also agitated before the Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf against withdrawal of exemption from loadshedding to textile mills on independent feeders.

The Prime Minister had constituted a committee then and there to solve the issue. The committee considered a special industry tariff against guarantee of uninterrupted power supply, which disapproved by the millers fearing that it would become permanent tariff when there is not power shortfall in the country.