President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF), President AKIA, Senior Vice Chairman of the Businessmen Panel of FPCCI and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain on Friday said severe load shedding of electricity has become a daily routine as the weather has gotten hot adversely affecting people associated with all fields of life. The situation has become more critical for industrialists as they are facing 8 hours daily load shedding causing reduced production and delay in export orders.
Mian Zahid Hussain said the daily labourers are losing their employment while traders face severe decline in their business due to worsen energy’s situation. SSGC said the 90 MMCFD gas is being provided to the K-Electric despite their agreement of 10 MMCFD while K-Electric required 190 MMCFD gas supply to cover the short fall of 500 MW of electricity. Similarly, there is dispute on the overdue amount of the SSGC which is Rs. 80 billion as per their claim while K-Electric accepts the claim up to Rs. 13.5 billion.
According to the credible sources the absence of agreement and overdue payment are years long issues, despite of these issues, the SSGC has been supplying the requisite gas then why it stopped the supply all of sudden.
The veteran business leader said we appreciate the role of Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah who has taken practical steps for resolution of the issue and has also taken up the matter with the Prime Minister of Pakistan. As per SSGC they had successfully handled critical situations in the past and they can handle it now; then why are they delaying the matter. We want an early and sustainable solution to this matter that has created tension across the City, he added.
The former minister said it is important that the matter is resolved on mutually agreed terms of SSGC and K-Electric on immediate basis as further delay may cause severe harm to common masses, trade, industry and economy of the City as well as Country. Business community requests the immediate resolution of the problem for concerned authorities and both SSGC and K-Electric.