Power crisis to continue till June 2010

[LahoreEstate]

Sunday, October 04, 2009
Pervez Ashraf passes the buck to critics to save his skin


ISLAMABAD: With the persistently repeated December deadline for ending loadshedding approaching fast, the nation’s powerful power minister has conveniently given a new deadline of June 2010, blaming the critics for the delay in the commencement of the controversial rental power plants.

The minister argued here on Saturday that the “unjustified criticism campaign” was scaring away investors.

Federal Minister for Power Raja Pervez Ashraf stated this while talking to the media after a meeting of the Private Power Infrastructure Board (PPIB). He said the “pointless criticism” had delayed the rental power projects and now the power deficit of 4,000 to 5,300 MW, which was earlier scheduled to end in December this year, would now be overcome by June next year.

He lamented that in the prevalent hostile environment, the investors did not want to risk their investment keeping in view the sharp criticism, as the campaign against rental power plants had created a sense of uncertainty among the investors. “Now, we are trying to get back investors for the completion of the projects,” the minister said.

Meanwhile, according to a source in the Ministry of Water and Power, some 500 MW of electricity might be injected into the system by December through some rental power plants.

Responding to a question, the source said that many of the investors had decided to keep themselves away from investing in the power sector keeping in view the charged atmosphere against the rental power plants.

The source added: “They do not want to put their investment in danger as all the rental power plants will have to provide electricity to the Pepco for a five-year period, but keeping in view the weak political position of the government and anticipating that the PLM-N might form the next government, it would be difficult for the investors to provide electricity under the Implementation Agreements as the new PML-N government may take them on, as they did in case of the IPPs. So this factor has also prompted the investors to avoid investing in the power sector.”

Subsequent to the minister’s interaction with the media, a press release issued about the meeting at the PPIB by the ministry stated that the most important task in hand for the government was to overcome the prevalent energy crisis, which had adversely affected the everyday life of the people and the national economy.

The government has adopted a multi-pronged approach and is concentrating on the policy, supply/generation and demand side management.

The PPIB meeting was attended by Secretary Water and Power Shahid Rafi, Secretary Planning Commission Ashraf M Hayat, Additional Secretary Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources Muhammad Ejaz Chaudhry, Member Federal Board of Revenue Zafarul Majeed and Managing Director PPIB Fayyaz Elahi.

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