Criticising the massive power load shedding and expressing extreme concerns over the rising electricity shortfall, Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) has urged the government to supply additional 200 MMCFD gas to Punjab-based textile industry for power generation for in house consumption to attain competitive edge in international market.
Commenting over the prevailing situation, PTEA Chairman Sheikh Ilyas Mahmood and Vice Chairman Adil Tahir said that due to severe electricity and gas shortage in the Punjab, the industry is suffering from huge loss while thousands of workers have lost their jobs. If the problem was not resolved on emergent basis, all efforts to promote industrialisation and job creation would prove fruitless, they added.
Industrial sector is the main victim of this massive load shedding despite the fact that business community fulfils its national obligations by paying all taxes to the government. They said that loadshedding is adding the woes of business community, while the government is torturing them by enhancing the electricity tariff. It is a sheer injustice that instead of controlling line losses and making arrangements to stop electricity thefts, the authorities were busy in worsening the situation. They said that if immediate measures were not taken to ensure continuous supply of electricity to the industrial units, nothing could stop the industrial wheel from coming to a grinding halt and resultant massive lay-offs.
The industry is already passing through a very difficult times and the non-supply of power adding fuel to fire, they added. The PTEA chairman was of the view that Pakistan is endowed with plenty of renewable energy resources like wind and solar, which still remain untapped.
The Adoption and deployment of renewable energy resources can play a significant role in contributing towards energy security and energy independence of the country, he argued. There are many options for the government to cope with the energy crisis and one of these is to go for nuclear power generation.
He said that there is a world-wide trend of nuclear power generation because of uncertain oil prices. Currently about 436 nuclear power plants, with cumulative net output of 370,326 MW electricity, are operating in 31 countries while Pakistan has only 1.7 per cent share of nuclear power in its total energy mix. He stressed upon the government to speed up the construction of nuclear power plants, which are cost competitive, safe and reliable.
Adil Tahir, Vice Chairman, said that another good option for the government to reduce energy crisis is to exploit the huge potential of hydropower generation. Only KPK has the potential of generating 50,000 MW hydropower and the government should build small dams to exploit this potential. For this purpose, private sector should be encouraged by simplifying the process of establishing micro-power stations in potential areas. He stressed that the government should encourage the private sector to come forward and play a proactive role in the development of renewable energy by utilising wind, solar and other renewable energy sources for overcoming the energy insecurity and to keep industrial wheel running. The PTEA urged the government to take war footing measures to overcome this situation as it has created new threats to the future survival of industries and the overall economy.
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