The Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif decided to proactively promote conservation measures through closure of shops and marriage halls by 8pm and restaurants by 11pm in the federal capital. Provincial governments would be apprised by the relevant federal ministers, the meeting agreed, and given that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif is a critical member of the CCoE the commitment for Punjab to lead the way by example was made. However, informed sources revealed to Business Recorder that Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal pointed out during the meeting that the time-line for the implementation of the decision had yet to be decided and this crucial decision was deferred till Saturday when another CCoE meeting was scheduled.
The truth of the matter is that this is a tried and tested idea. Efforts were made in the past as well for early closure of shops and restaurants but in vain, which makes one wonder as to the wisdom of reintroducing something that is already a proven failure. The Musharraf government attempted to institute day light saving hours system but it did not work, either. At one point, it was decided to curtail the use of air-conditioners in government offices (air-conditioners would not be switched on before 11am and government servants would attend office without wearing socks); it too did not go far. The only restriction successfully implemented so far in Punjab has been the 10pm time limit on wedding ceremonies held in hotels and marriage halls. It continues to be implemented because it helps the owners of such facilities to save on their electricity bills. But people just could not get used to the restrictions on shopping and eating-out hours. Small wonder then that the trading community in Punjab, based on past experience, reacted instantly and sharply to the CCoE's energy conservation plan, threatening to use all available options to force the government to change its decision.
The trading community, surely, is aware of the need to save energy, and hence is not rejecting the government plan without offering an alternative. President of All Pakistan Anjuman Tajiran (APAT) had a point as he regretted that the government had taken the step of closing shops by 8pm without taking stakeholders into confidence. The association's alternative plan seems to be both practicable and productive. It suggests switching off neon signs and 50 percent internal lights and fans during peak hours that, incidentally, start right at the time the government wants shops to close, ie, between 8pm and 10pm. At the same time, what could lighten some of the load on power lines are the other two decisions coming out of the CCoE meeting: One, that production of efficient electrical appliances consuming less electricity, including fans, florescent lamps, air-conditioners, motors, refrigerators, washing machines and UPSs. And second, introduction of an energy audit and conservation awareness programme in industries to help them reduce power consumption. A combination of all these measures can make a real difference in energy conservation.
The issue of implementation must take account of the ability of the federal government to take all the provinces on board, determine which department would enforce these measures and equally pertinently what would be the penalties, if any, for violating these directives. It is unlikely that the Sindh or Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments would follow these directives not only because they would be reluctant to take on a powerful pressure group on the federal government's directives but also because the two relevant federal ministers namely Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif and his Minister of State Abid Sher Ali as well as the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi have become hugely controversial - the former two because of their open attacks against the leadership of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf as well as the PPP (in government in KPK and Sindh, respectively) and the latter because of his engagement in a non-transparent LNG import deal. It is also highly unlikely that the PTI and the PPP would be willing to implement the directives of the committee when issues of royalties as well as the use of domestic gas have surfaced. It would have been more appropriate for the federal government to call a meeting of Council of Common Interests (CCI) to decide on the matter which would have had representation from all the provinces with an agreement more likely through negotiations.
Be that as it may, there would be little opposition to the objective of the CCoE namely to conserve electricity to ensure reduced loadshedding in summer. The Sharif administration's focus so far has been on increasing generation, a focus that can be challenged given the findings of the third party audit on the proposed rental power projects namely that Pakistan's generation capacity is not the problem.
The identified problems in the sector are soaring receivables (they have risen during the tenure of the incumbent government) and inability to improve the sector's performance through reducing transmission and distribution losses (the highest in the region). And simply directing Secretary Water and Power to personally supervise all projects under the Pak-China Economic Corridor on a daily basis with respect to proposed energy projects is hardly going to pay any dividends.
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