Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on Saturday directed the Pakistan State Oil (PSO) to provide additional 7,000 tonnes of oil to the power houses per day. Ashraf directed PSO to increase daily supply of oil to power stations from 14,000 tonnes to 21,000 tonnes. This decision may plunge the already cash-strapped PSO to further financial hardships as the entity has to recover outstanding dues amounting to Rs 150 billion from different institutions and departments. Instead of chalking out a plan for stepping up recovery campaign, the government has directed PSO to contact National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) in this respect. The experts have dubbed this new directive of augmenting oil supply to power houses a political move aimed at ending load shedding during election days by storing oil.
