Chairman All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Punjab, Ahsan Bashir has criticized the Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) for deviating from President Asif Ali Zardari's directions of uninterrupted power supply to textile industry on independent feeders for both prime and non-prime users.
Contrary to the directions, he said, the office of Pepco has issued a notification addressing all Discos to exempt on independent feeders from load shedding for textile industry but curtail the load by 25 percent simultaneously. Ahsan said President Asif Ali Zardari had assured of uninterrupted electricity supply to textile industry during his visit to Lahore to facilitate it for meeting production, exports and employment losses.
He said APTMA Chairman, Mohsin Aziz and APTMA Group Leader, Gohar Ejaz led a delegation to President Asif Ali Zardari on April 07, to make a detailed presentation on industry situation due to energy shortage, followed by clear-cut instructions from him for uninterrupted power supply to industry. Subsequently, he said, the Minister for Water and Power, Naveed Qamar appeared before the press and reiterated President's vow of providing uninterrupted power supply to textile industry with immediate effect.
Also, he added, the April 09 Energy Conference with Prime Minister in the chair also decided to exempt textile industry on independent feeders from electricity load shedding. Chairman APTMA said the textile industry was looking for implementation of the decisions from two highest offices desperately but April 16 notification from Pepco is contrary to the government commitment where the Pepco authorities have instructed Discos to reduce textile industry load by 25 percent while declaring it exempted from load shedding.
He said Pepco's notification is negation to the assurance from the office of President and Prime Minister of Pakistan respectively and may add miseries to industry woes, already running below capacity due to restricted gas and electricity supply.
He recalled that the industry was enjoying complete exemption from load shedding last year despite a shortage of 5000MW in the system. The industry is failed to understand why similar arrangement has not been extended to it this year. Chairman APTMA Punjab has urged the Federal Minister for Water and Power to intervene and instruct the Pepco authorities to withdraw the controversial notification immediately and keep supplying uninterrupted power supply in the larger interest of national economy.