KARACHI: President of Federal B Area Association of Trade and Industry (FBATI) Haroon Shamsi has said that by subsidising 700 captive power plants, two and a half million citizens of Karachi are being punished for the priority of gas supply. As a result of the continuous violation, the fuel charge adjustment for the common man is increasing.

Shamsi said that the fuel charge adjustment passed through electricity bills to the common man, already burdened by inflation, has been further increased while the federal government subsidises gas and electricity to 700 influential captive power companies.

In violation of the decision taken by the federal cabinet committee on energy in 2018, the KE is supplying imported RLNG at exorbitant rates, resulting in loss of power to millions of households and thousands of small and medium enterprises. Federal B Area Association of Trade and Industry and other trade associations have been appealing to the federal government since long to make the SSG mandatory to implement the gas allocation policy.

President FBATI appealed to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Minister of Energy (Power Division) Khurram Dastgir, Minister of Petroleum Musadik Malik, Chairman Energy Task Force Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to resolve this issue. He said that Shahid Khaqan Abbasi already directed the SSGC during the tenure of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. It was decided to supply at least 130 mmcfd of natural gas to Karachi Electric, but the SSGC is supplying 80 mmcfd to KE against this decision, the price of which has increased five times during the last few months.

Shamsi said that according to the rules and regulations, the Nepra transferred the impact of fuel hikes to the consumers through fuel charge adjustment, but if the FCA is extended in the same way, 40,000 small and medium industries that support thousands of families.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022