To increase transmission capacity and reliable power supply, Pakistan has approached the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the release of third tranche of $243 million under the ongoing power transmission and distribution enhancement project.
Multi-tranche financing facility

An official source said the funding has been sought under the multi tranche financing facility of the bank. He said the bank has changed its previous strategy of allocating funds and now funds are approved only for ready to implement projects. According to the source, the project was ready for implementation
and it was likely to be approved by the bank during the current month.
The government has requested ADB to finance construction of a
500 kV circuit with a transmission line of about 600 km along with a new 500 kV Grid Substation at Moro in Sindh.
The sub-projects will increase transmission capacity and improve efficiency and security of supply in
Punjab and Sindh.

5000 MW power shortfall

Pakistan’s power system faced with a shortfall of 5,000 MW operates under stress conditions due to increase in demand and overloaded infrastructure. The transmission network, the power system’s backbone, requires renovation and expansion to achieve reliability and high-quality power supply. This needs to be done to cater to the rising demand from industrial, commercial, agricultural, and domestic customers. The government has recently taken some major decisions for implementing the required administrative reforms in the power sector. For the success of administrative reforms major initiatives are also required in the improvement of the transmission and distribution network. New investment will help enhance the efficiency of power transmission system and provide an adequate and reliable power supply to consumers.

Eliminating power system bottlenecks

The source said the sub-projects finalised for the new tranche will improve power transmission infrastructure through development of additional 500 kV transmission lines and grid substations facilities, facilitating the process of eliminating power system bottlenecks. It will help increase inter-regional transmission capacity and evacuate power from new power stations to the load centers. It will help in the addition of approximately 600 km 500 kV transmission lines, commissioning of one new 500 kV grid station and expansion of four existing 500 kV grid substations. Subsequently, it will also ensure improved security of supply to customers by moving towards compliance with regulatory security standards governing planning and operation, and improved reliability of the primary transmission system.

Improve capacity utilisation of IPPS

The sub-projects will help supply the power generated from the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) which are expected to be commissioned during 2013-15 period. These investments are consistent with the government’s strategy to achieve more efficient power systems for reliable and high-quality power supply. It will also help in greater access and affordable electricity, by bringing additions of generation capacity and energy to load centers in the two densely populated provinces of Sindh and Punjab.

State owned Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) has made gas discovery at Zin block in Balochistan and estimates of the reserve size, quality and daily supply are being finalised.
An official source said gas pressure was assessed at 1000 pound square inch (psi) which indicates a big reservoir. However, he shared no information on the size of the reservoir, its quality and potential daily gas supplies, and said “the technical team is the process of evaluating all of these things”.
National flag carrier, OGDCL started exploratory drilling in the block located in Dera Bugti district and first well X-1 was spud in May this year. The company had obtained exploration license for Zin block in 1996. But due to law and order issues, it could not be drilled for last 14 years.
In industry circles, Zin block is considered a very prospective block as it is surrounded by major natural gas producing fields of Pirkoh, Loti, Sui and Uch. Work on the site was started in 2010, when government provided required security to the company. If drilling proves successful the gas from the field will start flowing within next one year, the source said.
A major discovery in the block will make government enhance security for companies interested in oil and gas exploration in the hydrocarbon rich province to overcome severe energy crisis due to estimated 2 bcfd shortfall in gas supply.
The country’s first major discovery of Sui gas field located in Dera Bugti was made in 1952. Its neighbouring district of Kohlu is attributed by experts as the most prospective area for finding major conventional hydrocarbon reserves. OGDCL has applied for security clearance for four licenses in the district including Kohlu, Jandran, Jandran West and Kalchas.
OGDCL is the largest upstream company in the country having a portfolio of 77 fields, out of which 45 fields are 100 per cent owned and operated, and 32 are non-operated fields. As of December 2010, it holds 48 per cent of the country’s recoverable oil reserves, and 37 per cent of the country’s recoverable gas reserves. In terms of production, currently OGDCL delivers 56 per cent of Pakistan’s oil output, and 22 per cent of its gas production.

Three-day CNG closure cannot be accepted, CNG owners have been facing immense pressure from consumers, public and transporters whereas the hardships of public will be increased and while CNG business will be ruined, said by resolution of APCNGA adopted in its Central Meeting.

"We have given gas load management formula to the government that is beneficial for general public & government. Our Formula will enable everyone to get CNG.

While the government will get the required quantity of gas from CNG sector with Increased Revenue and reduced petroleum import bill," said the resolution.

The CNG association said it has not been known as to why some officials are against this formula while the decided equitable formula is still waiting to be acted upon.

Meanwhile APCNGA has rejected 3days gas load shedding plan for CNG. After a meeting of APCNGA Central executive the Central Chairman Ghiyas Abdullah Paracha told media that the meeting has demanded to revise the load shedding plan for CNG as 3day CNG closure cannot be accepted, we have to face immense pressure from consumers, public and transporters. People go harsh on refusal for CNG and quarrels are a routine on CNG stations which is harmful for our business.

This way the hardships of public will be increased and our business will be ruined. We have given gas load management formula to the government that is beneficial for general public & government.

Our Formula will enable everyone to get CNG. Government would get the required quantity of gas from CNG sector with Increased Revenue and reduced petroleum import bill.

But we don't know why some officials are against this formula while the decided equitable formula is still waiting to be acted upon. We have sent a letter and asked Petroleum minister Dr. Asim Hussain for a meeting on Monday, we will try to resolve our issue in this meeting. We have firm hope that this issue will be resolved otherwise we will announce our further action plan.

Making life further difficult for poverty-hit people of the country, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has increased power tariff by Rs 3.04 per unit, ostensibly under Discos’ fuel adjustments formula sought by the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA).
Prior to the approval, the increase plea was heard at Nepra under its chairman Khalid Saeed on Friday after which all the distribution companies allowed the historic increase. However, the recent hike will be applicable to all the electricity consumers except the lifeline consumers.
The Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) in its plea has pleaded that totally 9,249 giga watt/hour (GWh) of electricity was sold to Discos during the month of August while NEPRA had earlier set Rs 3.60 per unit as a reference cost of fuel for the month of August, which in fact remained at Rs 6.66 per unit in the country. Further, reliance on power generation with furnace oil remained high as wind power generation found very low which gave a boost to average cost of fuel resultantly rates of electricity mounted during a span of one month period of time.
During the proceeding, it was learnt that reference generation of power through furnace oil was set at 24.6 per cent with comparison to 35.2 per cent production in the month of August while the wind power generation remained at 38.4 per cent with comparison to reference production 47.6 per cent and generation of electricity through gas remained at 22.1 per cent with comparison to the 24.6 per cent set reference generation of power.
It is to note here that earlier Nepra set Rs 45,000 MT a reference rate of power production through furnace oil which remained otherwise as cost of furnace oil generation was found at Rs 67,000 MT. Similarly, cost of electricity generation sold to Power Distributing Companies (Discos) remained at Rs 61.61 billion during August
Additionally, during this span of time, electricity generation through hydel was 3,657 GWh, Coal 12.70 GWh, high-speed diesel (HSD) 142.88 GWh, furnace Oil 3,352 GWh, gas 2,101 GWh, nuclear 184.28 GWh, and wind power 43 GW. Further, 262 GWh transmission losses of the Discos were surfaced during this specified span of time.
It is relevant to mention that on one hand the power ministry in its revised summary sent to Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has sought four per cent raise in electricity tariff, while on the other hand Nepra has raised the electricity rates, considering the request of CPPA, thus adding to the woes and worries of overburdened masses.
Economic pundits have argued that rates of electricity are increasing with each passing day. So this raise will multiply prices of commodities in general, since electricity is a prerequisite in the manufacturing of goods. The effect of the price hike will severely cast impact on the poor. This hike will have a negative impact on employment opportunities, affecting both employers and employees. They were of the view that the fuel hikes have already hit businesses. The increase of electricity tariff will push up inflation.
In another development, Speaker National Assembly, Dr Fehmida Mirza, has constituted a 17-member Special Committee to look into the reasons leading to the current power crisis in the country and propose steps to alleviate the power shortage.
After receiving nomination from all the parliamentary parties in the National Assembly, the Speaker issued notification of the committee.
The Special Committee has been constituted in pursuance of motion under Rule 244 (B) of the rules of Procedure and conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007 adopted by the House on Oct. 10, 2011.
It was further decided by the parliamentarians that the committee would come up with the report on the recent power crisis and would also come up with the remedial measures, both short-term and long-term, to get rid of the power crisis by November 24 when the National Assembly would meet again after its scheduled prorogation on 18th of this month.
The committee comprises MNAs Rana Muhammad Farooq Saeed Khan (PPPP), Nawab Muhammad Yousaf Talpur (PPPP), Khurrum Jehangir Wattoo (PPPP), Dr. Ayatullah Durrani (PPPP), Shahid Khan Abbasi (PML-N), Rana Tanvir Hussain (PML-N), Muhammad Baligh-ur-Rehman (PML-N), Rana Asif Tauseef (PML-Q), Sheikh Waqas Akram (PML-Q), Dr Muhammad Farooq Sattar (MQM), Bushra Gohar (ANP), Hameed Ullah Jan Afridi (FATA), Engineer Usman Khan Tarakai (IND), Muhammad Jadam Mangrio (PML-F), Mufti Ajmal Khan (JUI-F), Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao (PPP-S) and Saima Akthar Bharwana (Independent).
Agencies add: On the other hand, in a daring revelation, Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) Managing Director Rasool Khan Mehsud has said that political meddling is the main reason for loadshedding. Talking to a private TV channel, Rasool Khan said that political appointments made during successive regimes are at the heart of the leadshedding problem because these appointees are incompetent and unwilling to work.
Loadshedding is hanging like a sword over the masses besides other problems the country is facing now, the MD said, adding that the country can‘t get rid of power outages unless Pepco is purged of incompetent employees and undue political interference is put to an end.
The head of country’s main power supply company averred that had the successive governments let the honest officials do their work uninterrupted, they could have averted Rs300 billion circular debt of the department and the situation would have been much different. He said that out of the Rs300 billion, the federal and provincial governments and other departments owe Rs155 billion, while Sindh and KESC are the biggest defaulters of Pepco.
Rasool Khan said that two weekly holidays and other such measures would save 800MW. Commenting on the Punjab government’s resentment with the federal government over the long hours of outages, he said that Punjab government has the right to disagree, but Pepco is bound to follow the federal government’s loadshedding schedule.

The nation will face another "electric shock" as the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has increased power tariff by Rs 3.04 per unit.
According to NEPRA, power tariff has been increased under monthly fuel adjustment. The increase in power tariff has been approved for the month of August which is highest in the history of the country.
Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) took the stance in the application that hydal power generation decreased by 600 million units in August due shortage of water after which electricity was produced with furnace oil to bridge the shortfall.
CPPA further told that the cost of power generation with furnace oil increased by Rs2.75 per unit and the cost of power generation with diesel increased by 25 paisa while 9 paisa per unit was increased under line losses.
CPPA told during the hearing that the cost of production in the power projects in Muzaffargarh and Faisalabad remained Rs23 per unit. These units were made operational in Ramazan to reduce loadshedding due to which power tariff increased as compared to last month.

Pak-Arab Refinery Company (PARCO) on Saturday increased its LPG base-stock price by 10 per cent.
State-owned PARCO, which is the country’s largest refinery, increased its LPG price to Rs 68,615/MT on Oct 8 from the price it had notified just days earlier, Rs. 62,400/MT. The hike in LPG's per ton price took the prices of LPG up by Rs6 per kilogram.
In so doing, PARCO has matched the LPG price notified by state-owned Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL).
“Since the government of Pakistan is the country’s largest producer of LPG and account for over 60 per cent of the market, this price revision will adversely impact consumer prices,” said Belal Jabbar, spokesman of the LPG Association of Pakistan (LPGAP). “Suspension of anti-consumer and anti-competition clauses of the LPG Policy 2011 by the Lahore High Court had immediately led to reduced LPG prices across the value-chain, PARCO’s latest notification lessens the impact of these reductions,” he said.
Jabbar said the court’s suspension of the controversial petroleum development levy on local LPG producers had reduced LPG prices by up to Rs. 12/kg. The price revision by PARCO would now cause an overall decrease of Rs. 5/kg and not Rs. 12/kg, he held.
“It is important to apprise consumers of pricing across the value-chain in order to protect their interests and counter wanton speculation,” he said. “Persons claiming to be stakeholders in the LPG sector are responsible for such anti-consumer speculation aimed at creating uncertainty for their own vested interests,” said the spokesman. “Retail prices are now averaging around Rs. 110/kg,” he added.
“PARCO’s new price of Rs. 68,615/MT is lower than that of other public sector LPG producers. OGDCL and PPL reduced their price from Rs. 73,900/MT to Rs. 68,621/MT following the Lahore High Court’s suspension on Oct. 5 of the petroleum development levy and other controversial clauses in the new policy, which was made in secrecy by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources to the exclusion of the LPG sector.”

BILLIONAIRE the Aga Khan has paid out £54 million to divorce his second wife.
Six years ago, his split from his German-born former pop singer wife, the Begum Inaara Aga Khan, was billed as potentially the most expensive divorce in history with a £500 million price tag.
But on Friday, papers filed at the Appeal Court in Amiens in northern France revealed a deal with his second wife, Begum Inaara, has finally been struck - at a tenth of that figure.
The Aga Khan - who is worth £6 billion, owns 600 racehorses and has homes on five continents - moved legal proceedings across the Channel in the hope of getting a better settlement than he would have expected in the UK. And Saturday night he appeared to have saved himself a fortune by shifting the case to France. The payout is by far the largest ever awarded in France, where civil settlements are comparatively low. The deal between the Aga Khan, 73, and the former Gabriele zu Leiningen is understood to include the Berkshire estate where she lives with their 11-year-old son, Prince Aly.
The settlement follows claims by Begum Inaara, 51, that her husband was seeing an air hostess. Papers filed in the French court reveal that relationship between the Aga Khan and his wife had ‘irretrievably broken down’ within a couple of years of their society wedding on the Aga Khan’s estate at Aiglemont, north of Paris, in 1998.

After Turkish and Chinese companies, a Norwegian company NBT has expressed interest in investing $1 billion to set up a 500 megawatt wind power project in the country to tap the more than 60,000MW of wind power potential spreading from the coastal belt of Balochistan to Sindh.
NBT Chairman Arne Myre made this offer at a meeting with Water and Power Minister Syed Naveed Qamar on Monday. The seven-member delegation of NBT presented its business and investment plan. The delegation would meet with the prime minister along with the minister on Tuesday, an official source said. The Norwegian company had applied for the issuance of letter of interest (LOI) for the 500MW project and said that after issuance of the LOI, the company would complete a 250MW wind project within 18 months. The Sindh government had been asked to allocate suitable land in the wind corridor, the source said.
Pakistan has huge untapped wind energy potential estimated to be over 60,000MW in the coastal areas of Sindh and Balochistan. Earlier, a Turkish firm Zorlu had offered to set up a 50MW wind power station and after receiving financing from the Asian Development Bank, it was enhanced to 300MW. The Chinese electricity giant, China Three Gorges Project Corporation, is also working on a project to generate 300MW of wind power in the country. It has already applied for tariff to set up a 50MW wind power farm in Jhimpir, Sindh.
The government, the source said, had decided to expedite investment in the wind power sector as it was the only segment in the power sector where huge foreign investment could be attracted in the short term. New projects could be set up in months as compared to expensive thermal and hydel power projects, which required years to complete. The investors are demanding the government notify upfront tariff for wind projects that would enable them to expedite their investments in the projects.
The source said that the water and power minister would be meeting the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) chairman on Tuesday to decide the upfront tariff issue. He said the Alternate Energy Development Board (AEDB) was working on the upfront tariff that NEPRA had assured would be implemented.

Actress Lindsay Lohan was released from home detention on Wednesday after spending 35 days at her Los Angeles apartment for stealing a gold necklace, authorities said.
A private company that handles monitoring equipment for home detention inmates removed the electronic ankle bracelet from the “Mean Girls” star on Wednesday morning, said Steve Whitmore, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Department.
Lohan was sentenced in May to 120 days in jail, but the 24 year-old actress qualified for a shorter period of house arrest under programs for nonviolent offenders and to reduce overcrowding in Los Angeles jails.
Lohan, a former child star, pleaded no contest in May to the theft of a $2,500 gold necklace from a Los Angeles boutique. She had walked out of the store wearing the jewelry.
Her once promising Hollywood career has been derailed because of repeated run-ins with the law and trips to rehabilitation to deal with drug and alcohol problems.
Nevertheless, she is due to start filming a movie about New York crime boss John Gotti later this year with co-stars John Travolta and Al Pacino.

Federal Petroleum Minister Dr. Asim Hussain has said that an increase in gas prices has been proposed, Express News reported According to Dr. Asim a 10-15% increase in gas price for household consumers and 15-20% for industries has been proposed.
An across-the-board increase of 18 per cent in prices of natural gas for all categories of consumers — domestic, industrial, commercial and CNG stations — with immediate effect from Friday was notified by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority on Thursday night. According to the notification, the increase will yield an additional revenue of about Rs21 billion to the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and Rs11 billion to the Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) during the current fiscal year. The notification was earlier approved by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. An increase of about Rs64.02 per million British Thermal Unit (mmbtu) has been allowed in the average sale rate of SNGPL to Rs296 per unit, up by about 18 per cent. The average sale rate for SSGCL has been allowed to go up by Rs38.06 per mmbtu -- about nine per cent.The average sale rate for all consumers of natural gas, bought either from SSGC or SNGPL, has been increased by 18 per cent to ensure uniform gas tariff across the country. SNGPL and SSGCL had a couple of weeks ago sought an average increase in gas prices by about Rs80 per unit and Rs57 per mmbtu, respectively, through separate petitions to Ogra to meet their estimated revenue shortfalls during the current financial year. They said the increase was necessitated by a much higher cost of gas because of rise in international oil prices and depreciation in the value of rupee against the US dollar.
The cost of domestic gas production is linked to international oil prices that have registered a substantial increase over the past six months.




Rates for industrial consumers and fuel for fertiliser factories have been increased from Rs324.30 to Rs382.37 per unit. Rates for CNG stations have been increased from Rs427.15 to Rs503.64 per unit.


According to the notification, CNG rates for the Potohar region have been increased from Rs49.73 per kg to Rs55.30 per kg and those for Sindh and Punjab from Rs48.54 per kg to Rs53.63 per kg

In what could cheer up Pakistan about the future in present times of energy shortages, Petroleum and Natural Resources Minister Asim Hussain told the National Assembly on Monday that Sui area in Balochistan had huge reserves of tight gas equivalent to its presently known natural gas reserves.
Quoting estimates that he said had been kept hidden in the past, he also put the country’s natural gas reserves at 100 trillion cubic feet, compared to previously reported estimate of nearly 29 trillion cubic feet.
What were disclosures to the house came in a speech that Dr Asim said he had to cut short on instructions from the ruling party chief whip while winding up a debate on opposition cut motions on demands for grants in the new budget for the petroleum and natural resources ministry.
A member of the opposition PML-N and a former governor of Balochistan, retired Lt-Gen Abdul Qadir Baloch, told the house in a speech earlier that he had been once briefed about the existence of exploitable tight gas reserves deep under Sui equal to its presently known gas reserves.
The minister confirmed the opposition member’s statement, saying the place has “as much tight gas as in the present Sui field”, and informed the house that exploration work at the site, which is run by Pakistan Petroleum Limited, would begin in three months.
In February, the Council of Common Interests approved a policy for the exploitation of tight gas, which is natural gas reservoirs locked in difficult rock or underground formations extremely “tight” to drill.
Talking about the gas reserves, he said: “We have more than 100 trillion cubic feet,” adding that information about it had been kept hidden in the past and was “brought out by the present government”.
But he did not elaborate why and who had kept this information hidden or clarify whether the estimate included the estimate of tight gas.
Dr Asim also talked about plans for gas exploration at some other blocks in Balochistan despite the bad law and order situation in the province and progress of agreements to buy gas from Iran and Turkmenistan through pipelines yet to be built, he said: “We have a very bright future.”
But he said the “fruit” of these plans might be enjoyed by those “who come after us”.
Then petroleum and natural resources minister Naveed Qamar, in reply to a question in the National Assembly in January last, had put “total balance recoverable” from the country’s gas reserves at 28.9 trillion cubic feet – enough for more than 20 years.
Dr Asim described domestic consumption as “the worst form” of using gas, which he said must go to industry, and informed the house that the government had plans to build its first terminal for the import of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and to have marketing companies supply LPG “in every corner of the country”.
The minister promised to bring a law in the next session of the National Assembly to provide for punishing not only those who steal electricity but also those who help them do it, before the house approved the budgeted demands for grant for his ministry worth more than Rs703 million after rejecting all 33 cut motions mostly moved by PML-N members.
Before that, the house approved much bigger demands for grants worth more than Rs12 billion for the foreign ministry and worth more than Rs4 billion for the information and broadcasting ministry, after rejecting 33 cut motions about the first ministry and 35 about the second.

It looks like a giant art project. But this symmetrical, circular pattern of mirrored panels is the world's first solar power station that generates electricity at night. The Gemasolar Power Plant near Seville in southern Spain consists of an incredible 2,650 panels spread across 185 hectares of rural land.
The mirrors - known as heliostats - focus 95 per cent of the sun's radiation onto a giant receiver at the centre of the plant. Heat of up to 900C is used to warm molten salt tanks, which create steam to power the £260m station's turbines. But, unlike all other solar power stations, the heat stored in these tanks can be released for up to 15 hours overnight, or during periods without sunlight.
The regular sunshine in southern Spain means the facility can therefore operate through most nights, guaranteeing electrical production for a minimum of 270 days per year, up to three times more than other renewable energies.
The project, a joint venture between Abu Dhabi energy company Masdar and Spanish engineering firm SENER called Torresol Energy, took two years to construct at a cost of £260m. It is expected to produce 110 GWh/year - enough to power 25,000 homes in the Andalucia region.
Miguel Domingo, spokesman for SENER, said, “The on-schedule and on-budget completion of the construction and commissioning of the Gemasolar plant is a milestone for SENER. Currently, SENER is the only company in the world that has developed and built a commercial plant with central tower molten salt receiver technology that has already started operation.”

MULTAN,June 7th:Unavailability of petrol at majority of filling stations besides the scheduled load management for CNG stations hit the thousands of vehicle users and daily commuters hard another day on Monday.
The fuel shortages not only created problems for the motorists, students and office goers but also caused massive nuisance for the Multanites with paralysing the routine business activities in the ancient city of Asia . The fare charging remained high at city routes as compared to the regular days and the already least available urban transport was totally off at some city routes.
Some sources disclosed that ‘low margin’ on petroleum products for the dealers was the main reason behind the ‘fake shortages’ of fuel while the Petroleum Dealers Association claimed that they were getting low quantity of petrol from the supplier companies since last many days.Scores of commuters were witnessed waiting for transport at bus-stops and long queues were also observed at majority of filling stations, where the people have to go without getting petrol despite waiting for hours in the sizzling heat.
“I am standing here for the last 35 minutes and waiting my turn to get one litre of petrol to reach my office,” a motorcyclist Abdul Muneeb standing at a petrol pump at Kalima Chowk commented on the situation exhaustedly while talking to this scribe. About 40 people were witnessed standing at the petrol pump waiting their turn. People have to rush from one petrol pump to another to fill their vehicles.
Daily commuters have to change two to three  vans to reach their destinations, which on regular days they travelled by using only one.
“I have to change two vans to reach my shop at Gulgasht from Hassan Parwana, the first van dropped me at Chgungi No.9 wherefrom I picked the second,” said Hafeez-ullah, a worker at a bookshop. He complained that the van-owners were overcharging stop-to-stop fare by Rs 2 to Rs 5 and no one was there to stop them, he added.On the other hand, the illegal petrol sellers spend a busy day and they kept fleecing people by selling petrol at high prices. The consumers have to purchase petrol by paying Rs 100 to Rs 110 per litre, whereas, the official price of petrol is Rs 86.7 per litre.
The Petroleum Dealers Association Punjab spokesman Muhammad Iqbal was of the view that there was less supply of fuel from the refineries adding the oil marketing companies were also not picking up stocks from the refineries because of shortages of money for buying fuel from the refineries. He said the demand and supply gap was the main reason behind the shortages since last week. According to him, the filling stations of not only Multan but all the cities of Southern Punjab  from Sarghoda to Sadiqabad were facing severe shortages of petrol. However, the Association office-bearer was hopeful that the problem would solve in coming days. Meanwhile, the the two-day weekly holidays at CNG stations added the problems of the people. The commuters said that they faced huge problems because of the closure of CNG pumps. At least, they added, the government had to arrange specific CNG gas stations for urban transport. Criticising, the transport authorities, the government, the commuters were of the view that the incumbent government failed to provide any facility to people and even the public transport facilities were not available to them since two years.

Protests broke out across the country on Tuesday as the people’s patience with the government finally gave way in the wake of unregulated and lengthy power outages that left businesses and industries suspended and caused acute discomfort to millions as temperatures soared. The protests were echoed in the National Assembly as well, where the members’ disbelief was obvious when Water and Power Minister Naveed Qamar assured them that load shedding would be reduced within a few days.
In Lahore, more than 400 protesters from Begum Kot, Shahdara and Jiya Mosa first blocked Grand Trunk Road at Shahdara Morr with burning tyres, then proceeded to attack a Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) office in Jiya Mosa with stones, setting fire to records and cables, as well as bicycles of LESCO staff. Shahdara DSP Riaz Shah said a case had been registered against the protesters on the complaint of LESCO officials.
In Karachi, students of Urdu University protested against lengthy power outages. The administration summoned Rangers to disperse the protest and two students were injured in the ensuing baton charge. Other cities and towns in Sindh were also without power for most of the day because of faults in the high tension lines and the grid station in Mirpurkhas. People also protested in Faisalabad, where power-looms were shut down and business in the city came to a standstill.
Protests were also held in Multan, Rawalpindi and Peshawar, where people were angered by hours of power outages at a time. Meanwhile, Qamar told the NA the government was trying its best to resolve the power crisis, and that a shortage of oil and gas supply had caused the load shedding. Qamar said the groundbreaking of Diamer-Bhasha Dam would be held soon and the project would be completed within the stipulated time. Speaking on a point of order, Awami National Party MNA Pir Dilawar Shah said such assurances were given every day, but in reality power supply had not been improved at all. The ANP MPs also staged a walkout to protest the prolonged outages in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

As the mercury soared across Pakistan in General and in South Punjab in particular  the demand and supply gap of electricity also widened on Tuesday affecting the daily life of the masses severely.People of Multan, Bahawalpur, Khanewal, Vehari, Muzaffargarh, Lodhran, Pakpattan, Dera Ghazi Khan,Rahimyarkhan, Sadiqabad, Bahawalnagar are experiencing severe heat as the mercury rose to 43 degree celsius.They are facing 10 to 16 hours load shedding. Agriculturists are forced to use diesel engines to run their tubewells for Kharif crop
The total power generation of the Pepco was recorded at 9,500 megawatts against a demand of 16,000 megawatts, leaving a shortfall of 6,500 megawatts.
The duration of power outages in all major cities has been increased to 12 hours a day while in rural areas it is up to 20 hours.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is facing power cuts for more than 16 hours a day. Power is being supplied for an hour after every two to three hours of loadshedding.
The residents of Quetta are suffering from six to eight hours a day of consistent power outages.
The electricity shortfall in interior Sindh including Hyderabad has reached 800 megawatts and the citizens are bearing long hours of unscheduled and unpredictable loadshedding. Temperature in several areas of Sindh has reached 42 degree centigrade.
In Punjab 10 to 16 hours of outages have crippled the masses’ lives. Continuous loadshedding has affected every aspect of the life of the people as they are unable to take proper rest at home hence do not find themselves fresh to discharge their duties efficiently at their respective work places due to power cuts. Electricity loadshedding has also affected the water supply to all cities as well as towns.
People from across the country have demanded of the government to think seriously over the major issue which cripples the life and businesses of the masses and fulfill its promise of bringing an end to loadshedding.

India on Wednesday offered to export electricity to Pakistan, stating that they are willing to help Pakistan deal with its energy shortfall, report said. According to Commerce Secretary Zafar Mehmood, the Indian offer will soon come under consideration and discussions will be held on how much electricity should be imported from India and at what rate it will be supplied.

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) on Saturday informed the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that there was no institution in UK and America where Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) Chairman Tauqir Sadiq claimed to have acquired his LLM degree from.
“The institute (American Institute of London) does not exist in America and Britain,” the HEC replied to the court’s query about the institute’s status, exposing Tauqir Sadiq’s degree as bogus.
The IHC had sought report from the HEC about the status of American Institute of London (from where Tauqir Sadiq got his degree) three days ago during hearing of the petition challenging his (Tauqir Sadiq) LLM degree by union members.
A spokesperson for the HEC said the court had just enquired about the status of the institution in England or America, hence the commission simply sent their reply about status of the institution. When contacted, Tauqir Sadiq said his degree was genuine and the information sent to the commission about the institution by the court was not correct, as he had got his degree from American University in England.
He said he had done LLB from the Punjab University and has the experience of 20 years on his credit in the relevant field and he is fully eligible for this seat. He is brother-in-Law of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Punjab Secretary General Jehangir Badr.
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Resources also expressed serious concerns over his appointment as the Ogra chief without required experience and qualification in relevant field.
Tauqir Sadiq’s appointment as the Ogra chairman has stoked controversies. After becoming Ogra chief, he developed differences with Ogra officials.
First time, controversy surfaces when he delegated powers to Member Finance Kamal Mari and made former member oil Dr Illyas Fazil and member gas Hadi Hasnan dysfunctional who had opposed the decision to relocate site of the CNG station owned by PML-Q parliamentarian.
Dr Illyas Fazil and Hadi Hasnan resigned in August last.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has approved the appointment of Tauqir Sadiq as Ogra chairman and issued a notification about his appointment for a four-year term