The Sandman
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October 12, 2015,
ISLAMABAD – Federal Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif on Monday told the Senate that 'oil mafia' in the country did not wanted to replace oil fuel with cheaper sources of electricity like coal, gas and wind.
"The country imports $16 billion oil and the people - who have great interest in it - do not want the generation shifted from oil fuel to other resources," he said in response to an adjournment motion moved by Senator Shahi Syed. The motion pertained to a report of the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, which revealed that the efficiency of the Ministry of Water and Power was very poor and 70 per cent of the consumers were receiving over-charged bills.
"Not a single megawatt of electricity is being produced from coal as we are facing resistance in coal and LNG production, while in India 78 per cent of electricity is being produced from coal and in USA 40 per cent," he said. "Unfortunately, the generation plants in public sector are very costly and the government runs them in case of emergency in order to meet demand during peak hours," he added.
Commenting on the power outages and inflated bills received by consumers in Balochistan, Asif said the Quetta Electric Supply Company (QESCO) had less than 20 per cent of recovery due to law and order situation. He said that after laying of two transmission lines in Balochistan the electricity system has improved while after easing of international sanctions on Iran, electricity for there would also be imported.
He said payments to the independent power producers and other organisations supplying oil to the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) had been improved, adding that just the Pakistan State Oil has some backlog. He said that there was no increase in circular debt since October 2014 and it has been caped.
'Oil mafia doesn’t want electricity from coal'
ISLAMABAD – Federal Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif on Monday told the Senate that 'oil mafia' in the country did not wanted to replace oil fuel with cheaper sources of electricity like coal, gas and wind.
"The country imports $16 billion oil and the people - who have great interest in it - do not want the generation shifted from oil fuel to other resources," he said in response to an adjournment motion moved by Senator Shahi Syed. The motion pertained to a report of the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, which revealed that the efficiency of the Ministry of Water and Power was very poor and 70 per cent of the consumers were receiving over-charged bills.
"Not a single megawatt of electricity is being produced from coal as we are facing resistance in coal and LNG production, while in India 78 per cent of electricity is being produced from coal and in USA 40 per cent," he said. "Unfortunately, the generation plants in public sector are very costly and the government runs them in case of emergency in order to meet demand during peak hours," he added.
Commenting on the power outages and inflated bills received by consumers in Balochistan, Asif said the Quetta Electric Supply Company (QESCO) had less than 20 per cent of recovery due to law and order situation. He said that after laying of two transmission lines in Balochistan the electricity system has improved while after easing of international sanctions on Iran, electricity for there would also be imported.
He said payments to the independent power producers and other organisations supplying oil to the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) had been improved, adding that just the Pakistan State Oil has some backlog. He said that there was no increase in circular debt since October 2014 and it has been caped.
'Oil mafia doesn’t want electricity from coal'