NEPRA blames network failure for outages

The increase in loadshedding even during Sehr and Iftar has not gone unnoticed as the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has taken up the matter against the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC), blaming it for not addressing systemic bottlenecks despite large investments authorised by the regulator.
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To ensure that nobody faced electricity outages, the previous government announced two shifts of uninterrupted power supply. The first, a three-hour period during Sehr time, and the second, a four-hour shift starting at Iftar and ending after Taraveeh. The policy, according to the government, would be extended to even those areas that had more than 80pc in losses. All industrial consumers were asked to adjust their labour shifts accordingly.

The plan worked well for the first few days and the power division declared that it had even restored full supply to one category of industrial consumers as there was sufficient power generation.

However, some major cities began to witness extended periods of loadshedding, besides unscheduled power cuts that continued regardless. The authorities said that constraints in the system had appeared as power generation from the south of the country had been moved to the north as hydropower generation had dropped due to water shortage.
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The power regulator on Friday said it was worried over the increase in loadshedding in the country and found that the overloaded grid stations of the NTDC werethe underlying cause of the breakdowns.
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The regulator had previously taken notice of the failures of the NTDC and had directed the system operator on Nov 20, 2017 to resolve the issue of overloaded grid stations.

However, the issues with the NTDC`s network remain unsettled. Problems may be further aggravated over the next few months given the increased demand over July and August if immediate measures are not taken, the regulator said. It directed the NTDC to prepare and implement a plan for eliminating overloading and network problems.
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Complete news at: https://epaper.dawn.com/DetailImage.php?StoryImage=09_06_2018_016_003

PM orders cut in power sector losses

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According to the ministry, the country`s power generation capacity increased substantially but the power system was not improved proportionately that required a massive investment for upgrade. It also reported that the transmission and distribution system was still fragile and susceptible to minor variations in frequency and unusual events.
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As such, the more electricity is produced, transmitted and consumed, the bigger becomes the size of circular debt. At 15,000MW power generation, the circular debt was building at the rate of about Rs120 billion, while it is now set to grow to Rs360bn as generation gets closer to 21,000MW.
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It was reported that compared to 18,753MW in 2013, the current available generation capacity currently stood at 28,704MW. However, due to weather conditions and the resultant reduced water supply, hydel generation in May this year remained at 3,090MW, compared to 6,333Mw in 2015.
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Complete news at: https://epaper.dawn.com/DetailImage.php?StoryImage=06_06_2018_016_005

Nasty jolts to the economy

By Shahid Javed Burki

PAKISTAN�S economy received several nasty jolts in the last several months. Some were delivered by the developments over which the country�s policymakers did not have any control. These included the inexorable increase in the price of oil which has affected all oil-importing countries including Pakistan.

There has also been an increase in the price of agricultural commodities Pakistan must import to meet domestic demand. These include wheat and oil seeds.

There were other jolts to the economy for which policymakers must take full responsibility. These include the shortage in the generation of electric power which has resulted in load-shedding that is taking a heavy toll in terms of both lost output and great discomfort to the citizens. Most affected by this shortage are the less well-to-do segments of society who cannot afford to buy alternate sources of electric supply such as portable generators.

These shortages should have been estimated by the previous administration and appropriate investments should have been made. Instead, for eight years, Pakistan did not make investments in electric power generation while the demand for electricity continued to increase at nearly seven per cent a year. This has left the country with a demand-supply gap estimated by the government at 4,000 megawatts.

Compounding these problems were the decisions taken by Islamabad to spend carelessly in order to help the party in power in the elections of Feb 2008. Public expenditure was allowed to increase way beyond the resources available to the government by way of tax and other revenues. The result was a ballooning of fiscal deficit estimated at 9.5 per cent of GDP by Ishaq Dar who was the minister of finance in the first coalition government to take office after the elections.

A significant part of this deficit was financed by borrowing from the central bank which added to the inflationary pressures already present in the economy. This produced price increases without precedence in Pakistan�s history. Once again it is the poor and the not-so-well-off segments of society that are suffering. Unless help arrives soon, Pakistan may begin to see political and social pressures building up. Considering the weak state of institutional development in the country, it would be hard to contain these strains.

The new set of political leaders, who have come to power, is being advised to adopt adjustment measures to deal with the pressures under which the economy is labouring these days. The prescriptions being offered are the usual ones: contain government expenditures by cutting spending on both current and development parts of the government budget, raise resources by expanding the tax base, provide relief to the poor by giving them cash transfers and by creating jobs for them by starting rural and urban works programmes, take advantage of the fall in the value of the rupee by encouraging exports, and make non-essential imports more costly.

In a report released by the new Lahore-based Institute of Public Policy that I chair, the government was also advised to transfer greater authority to the provinces and to the institutions of local government. This will help with the process of adjustment since it would bring economic governance closer to the people. We also advised the government to make sure that the design of adjustment policies ensured that future growth was not compromised. This was done in the 1999-2002 period when, following the advice of the International Monetary Fund, the then administration applied hard breaks to the economy.

This, as indicated above, is the standard advice given to most governments dealing with difficult economic situations. Pakistan, however, needs to do much more than follow the standard prescription. It needs to adopt an approach and develop a strategy that lessens the grip on the economy of several powerful vested interests. Over time, the Pakistani economic elite has increased its influence on the making of public policy.

The extent to which this has happened is clearly shown by some simple calculations. The latest World Development Indicators published by the World Bank provide estimates for all countries of the share in national income of various segments of the population. In Pakistan, the top 10 per cent of the population claims 26.3 per cent of the total national income while that of the bottom 10 per cent is only four per cent. This is one of the sharpest differences in the developing world: the rich receive 6.8 times the amount of national income that accrues to the poor.

However, a comparison of the shares in national income does not fully reflect the amount of real inequality between different classes of people. The rich have much better access to public services than the poor; the state generally looks after their interests much more than it does for the poor.

What makes these income differences even more problematic is that they are widening as a consequence of the growth model followed by the Musharraf government which favoured the rich. The sectors that flourished under President Musharraf did little for the poor while they provided large amounts of incomes and asset appreciation for the rich. The recent price increases in food commodities have added further insult to the injury inflicted by the pursuit of the growth model.The poor�s real income will decline significantly if food and fuel prices are allowed to eat into their disposable incomes. Not only is the price increase hurting the poor, the latter are also being affected by the various shortages that have appeared in the economy against which the rich can protect themselves but the poor are left to fend for themselves.

In fact, the rich have succeeded in creating large cocoons around themselves, thus isolating themselves from the less fortunate citizenry. They have built gated communities, protected by private security companies; they send their children to expensive private schools that provide education of reasonable standards; they go out over the weekends to shop in the malls of Dubai and go for summer vacations to various watering spots in Europe.While one should not grudge this lifestyle, it cannot be sustained in the midst of great and growing poverty. And it must not be sustained at the expense of the poor. Public policy must address this problem to ensure not only sustained economic growth but also social and political stability.

DAWN - Editorial; June 10, 2008

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MQM’s power-sharing talks with PPP fail: Suddle’s appointment as IG opposed

Dr Sattar said the MQM had serious reservations over the appointment of Dr Shoaib Suddle as the Sindh police chief. Dr Suddle, according to him, was responsible for extra-judicial killings of scores of workers of his party. “When we conveyed our reservations to PPP leaders in Saturday’s meeting, they replied that he was their hero.”He said that under such circumstances the MQM felt that the PPP was not serious in holding dialogue for reconciliation and the coordination committee had decided that the party’s lawmakers would sit in the opposition.

He urged all MQM workers, including elected representatives, to keep an eye on the situation and inform the masses about it.In reply to a question, he denied that MQM’s demand for more ministries in the Sindh cabinet had resulted in the failure of the talks.

Full Story on MQM’s power-sharing talks with PPP fail: Suddle’s appointment as IG opposed -DAWN - Top Stories; April 14, 2008

but mqm agreed to adopt forgive n forget policy see the following

Muttahidda Qaumi Movement(MQM) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) announced on Wednesday that both parties have forgiven each other and promised to save Pakistan for the future generation. Full story: The Nation
... above excerpt from the nation tells us tht mqm has forgot past and have forgiven ppp... then y do they have doubts abt intentions of ppp? if they doubt ppp's intentions then on the same grounds others can doubt mqm being non-serious n insincere while accepting the forgive n forget policy if they r sincere n serious in this policy then y do they object on appointment of suddle?

Secondly Shoiab Suddle is alleged to have played role in supression of mqm or extra judicial killings of mqm workers... then, Ishrat-ul-Ibad, the governer sindh has also been allegedly involved in many crimes including killings... there r no legal proofs presented in the courts against either of them... how come mqm has reservations on appointment of a person allegedly involved in killing but is happy with a governer who has also been alleged to have killed many innocents... for your reference i m putting a few excerpts from different places:

Who is this “Sindh Governor”? He is the Governor of Sindh Province in Pakistan. Karachi the port city is Capital of this Sindh Province. The name of Governor is Ishratul Abad. In official record he is absconder of justice from Karachi but he is invisible for the Police of Province which Police is under him. He is involved in more than 50 criminal cases as per the above magazine. Leave those criminal cases aside one can say those are political victimization. Take only one and last month’s case to understand the man. A London daily (telegraph) last month reported that UK peoples money was being misspent. The daily gave example that while one Ishratul Abad was drawing a big monthly social allowance with other facilities being an asylum seeker from UK treasury, he was living a posh life as Governor of Sindh in Pakistan More...

President General Pervez Musharraf has designated Mutahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Dr Ishratul Ibad as Governor Sindh. All cases against the MQM’s nominee for the Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad have been withdrawn, the Nation reported. It may be mentioned that there were dozens of cases including of murder, dacoity and kidnapping against Dr Ibad. One of the cases against him was of abducting a military officer.
The nomination of the Muttahidda leader Dr Ishrat-ul-Ibad as Sindh Governor was assailed in the Sindh High Court. Petitioner Sohail Hameed Advocate has also prayed the court to restrain Dr Ishratul Ibad from performing his responsibilities as Sindh Governor, as according to him, his appointment is in violation of Article 2A of the Constitution. President and prime minister of Pakistan and Dr Ishara-tul-Ibad have been cited as respondents in the petition.Eagle Enterprises

as mqm can say allegations to koi bhi laga sakta hai... so can someone else say on mqm's stand against appointment of suddle...

when law n order situation went wrong after BB's assassination, IG was changed at tht time too (see The News), so its normal to make such changes in police, why is mqm makin it an issue?

earlier IG could not respond to events like april 09, 2008 then y wont the sittin govt. change the person... previously appointed IG was appointed by caretaker govt. n was found incapable of doin wht is needed... so a change to avoid events like april 09 is much needed...

MQM never does wrong. Always others are responsible for wrong doings:
Farooq Sattar accused the PPP leadership of maintaining a non-serious attitude and put all the onus of the failure of talks on the PPP. "We had several rounds of talks with the PPP leadership, but they always gave a cold shoulder and the negotiations on their part were greatly non-serious," Sattar said. Full Story

Mr. Farooq Sattar, ppp came to nine zero to extend a hand of friendship, n u r sayin tht they r givin a cold shoulder, come on give logical stmts... will we ever listen to a stmt like "yes we admit we were responsible for the failure or deadlock etc.... and we seek apology for tht" from mqm? mqm always blames others for everythin... mqm guys r angels it seems

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