PM calls CCE meeting to resolve SSGC,

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has convened a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCE) in Karachi tomorrow (Monday) with a major focus of resolving the lingering gas supply issue between the state-run Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) and privatised K-Electric company, as besides businesses, one-tenth of Pakistan’s population living in Karachi is suffering due to prolonged power outages.

The SSGC and K-Electric have differences over outstanding payments and fuel supply. On Friday, the Ministry of Power tried to broker a deal, but it also failed to resolve the issues. The SSGC said K-Electric has to pay and outstanding amount of Rs78 billion, whereas K-Electric said the principal outstanding amount is only Rs13 billion and the remaining is in lieu of interest or mark-ups.

Meanwhile, Minister for Power Division Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari wrote a letter to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on energy crisis in Karachi. He said that K-Electric could have run the closed plants on alternate fuel as reported by Nepra.