The textile industry is likely to be exempted from load shedding from 10th of July, said reliable sources from the PEPCO. Sources said the textile industry was vying for resumption of load shedding by the end of the holy month of Ramadan but no decision was made by the authority despite availability of surplus power.
"Surplus power was available but the secretary water and power had left for Karachi well before Eid, therefore the decision to resume power supply to the textile industry was deferred till his return," the sources added. It may be noted that the Ministry of Water and Power had withdrawn exemption from load shedding to the textile industry with the start of the holy month of Ramazan. The textile industry was exposed to 10 hours a day load shedding, starting half an hour before Iftar and resuming half an hour after Sehri.
The relevant quarters had well-informed the authority that surplus power would be available during the Eid holidays due to reduced power consumption both by the domestic and commercial consumers. But the authority kept delaying the decision, apprehending any untoward situation in case the domestic consumers face in any trouble due to power supply to the industrial sector.
But still the PEPCO sources said the desperate textile millers were supplied with the electricity in and around the city of Lahore. The textile industry has witnessed unprecedented load shedding of electricity since November 2007 and the size of power-fed textile industry has reduced to an alarming level. The industry has not only been facing the problem of power availability but also the affordability. Now, the import of RLNG has brought a sigh of relief to the industry, as the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources was supplying RLNG to the textile industry on a highly affordable rate to keep their captive power plants operational. However, those yet being fed through the electricity on the independent feeders are facing supply constraints and compromising with their productivity. The government is determined to produce surplus electricity by the end of next year to overcome the power load shedding once and for all.
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