Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has urged the government to remove inefficiencies in the system to ensure adequate energy supply throughout the country. LCCI President Ijaz A Mumtaz in a statement on Monday said that due to severe energy crisis, the investment scenario has spoiled in the province and so much so existing industrial units have curtailed their productions.
He said by bringing power and gas distribution loses to international level the supplies could be substantially increased. He said currently the distribution loses range from nine percent in Islamabad Electric Supply Company to over 35 percent in Sukkur Electric Supply Company.
As a first step the government should make the company with lowest line loses as benchmark and asks all power utilities to bring down loses to that level within a month, he added.
He said acute electricity and gas shortage has not only crippled the trade and industry but has also brought widespread unemployment and poverty.
He said that non-availability of gas and electricity is hitting all sectors of economy including trade, industry and agriculture hard.
Ijaz further said the private sector is engine of the growth and in the developed countries it is facilitated to the maximum but in Pakistan circumstances are totally different. He said that LCCI has repeatedly warned the government of massive lay offs and industrial closures if it fails to immediately stop power outages but people sitting on the helm of the affairs are playing the role of silent spectators.
The LCCI president further said that the government should understand that economic well being is must for democracy. Therefore, the government should understand the ground realities and reset its priorities regarding provision of gas and electricity to the industry. He said that the industry needs continuous supply of electricity to keep the units operational and to complete the export orders well within the given timeframe.