The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) has flayed the disconnection of gas supply to 100 textile exporting units in War Burton and Manga area. Aptma Member Akbar Sheikh warned that the textile industry is already in a grave financial crisis and the country's trade deficit is widening to $16 billion for the current fiscal year.
"The gas closure will further crush the economic feasibility of the textile industry. Textile mills will have to pay millions of rupees maximum demand indicator charges to the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) for using electricity even for a single day in the month," he said.
"The extra cost to mills during these three months may be as much Rs 10 million per mill. This is going to force some mills to default on the energy bills. Regretfully, the industry is being made the sacrificial goat, in spite of the fact that the industry is most profitable customer for the distribution company. Disconnection of gas to industry and diversion to domestic sector causes huge loses to the gas distribution company", he maintained.
He said that lowering gas pipelines pressure without prior notice and specific timing caused gas-based electric generators to trip damaging the generators and expensive textile machinery. He said it was obvious that the government, while exhorting the industry to adopt market economy, had itself failed on the supply side when it came to input of the industry.
Akbar Sheikh said the government had not only failed in the energy supply field, but also failed in the supply of industry's raw materials, like cotton and polyester fibre, for the past eight years.
"The government's failure on the supply side has destroyed the most efficient industry in Pakistan and the bread earner on the export front namely the textile industry," he claimed.
Sheikh has demanded that the government should accord top priority to the textile industry in the gas supply scheme and the industry's gas will not be diverted to domestic-users.
He said instead of shutting down the entire industrial zone, which overloads the electric grid, scheduled load shedding of industrial units, as done last year, would be resorted and no MDI charges shall be demanded by Wapda in November, December, January and February.
He said that a hotline would be established between distribution company and the industrial consumers, and prior notice would be given to industrial-users with gas-based power generation before gas pressure in the line is reduced. He said financial compensation to the industry would be given to cover the loss caused by lapses in energy supply. Akbar Sheikh said for exporters who miss export deadline due to energy interruption, the government would arrange and pay for air shipment of the goods and claims by the buyer if any.
He said the government should pay for machinery damage, if any, because of fluctuation in energy supply. He has appealed to the caretaker government to resolve the textile industry's problems.