KARACHI: Exporters of various sectors have approached the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) and demanded a resolution of unabated power outages, which have hampered industrial production.
Through separate letters, sent to MoC recently, Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturing and Export Association (PHMEA), Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) and Karachi Electronics Dealers Association (KEDA), has notified the ministry of the dampened industrial activity and have asked for immediate steps to save the country’s exports.
The ministry, sources said, has forwarded these letters to Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) to examine for necessary action. However, sources claimed that the authority has turned down the appeal presenting the excuse that government was not responsible of such cases.
Exporters of the above associations have expressed grave concern over the hours’ long daily electricity load-shedding in the city’s congested industrial and commercial areas, adversely affecting the exports and halting the pace of trade activities.
Almost 50 percent production of exportable goods has already dwindled due to daily power outages, causing massive financial losses. According to these exporters, power shortages were not only affecting the country’s export but also ruining the life of employees. Exporters have advised the government to immediately arrange supply of an additional 200 to 300MW from WAPDA to KESC so that the industrial areas could be spared from gas outages.
They have further said that trade and industry had never wished any confrontation with the government or any of its functionaries but apathetic attitude decisions and dysfunctional system of the government has forced the industry to close down units and stop payment of utility charges.
According to the exporters, the dual load-shedding of power and gas is bound to have a fatal blow to the survival of industries in Karachi. At the time when the calendar year is closing and the exporters have to fulfill their shipment commitments industries can not afford to have a slowdown for any reason. Though these associations, particularly, KATI had warned the government that the industrialists would be forced to stop payment of bills to KESC and SSGC if the load-shedding was extended to industrial areas as per the schedule announced by the KESC, but the concerned authorities stayed indifferent.
The Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC), which had earlier exempted the industries of load-shedding, has rescheduled the power outages in the sector after the reduction of gas supply from Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC).
The residential and commercial consumers of the company, earlier, were facing scheduled outages of three to four hours in 24 hours while the industries, hospitals, strategic localities and industries were being provided the uninterrupted power supply. However, the last four to five months have seen the industrial sector also included in the load-shedding category.
