Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) has shown concerns over the government’s move to observe almost 10 hours of load shedding for industry during the month of Ramzan.
ICCI termed it another setback for the economy, as without power supply, production activities would come to a halt bringing more problems for the local industry as well as the overall economy.
Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Atif Ikram Sheikh said that due to insufficient power supply, industry was already operating far below its actual capacity and long hours of load shedding during Ramzan would further hurt manufacturing activities.
“Pakistan’s exports have fallen by over 14% during the first 10 months of the current fiscal year and proposed load shedding for industry will cause further decline in our exports, as exporters would not be able to meet the export orders on time,” he said, and added, “Without electricity for 10 hours, industrial units in Punjab would be forced to lay off thousands of workers ahead of Eid, which would deprive many families of Eid celebrations”.
He said energy is the lifeline of Pakistan’s economy and the most vital instrument for industrial development, but it was unfortunate that successive governments could not make any comprehensive plan to cope with the rising energy demand of the country. He said: “Energy sector of Pakistan is still marred with many problems such as rapid demand growth, rising transmission and distribution losses. These problems arise due to an outdated power network, electricity theft, and seasonal reductions in the availability of hydropower”.
Sheikh said that one good option for the government to cope with the rising energy demand is to pay more attention towards the renewable energy sources. “Pakistan is fortunately located at a beneficial geographical location where potential for all the renewable energy sources including solar, wind, biogas, biomass, mini and micro hydel exist abundantly,” he said, and added, “The worldwide utilisation of renewable energy is on a fast track and Pakistan should make a comprehensive program for a fast track exploitation of renewable energy sources to ensure sustainable economic growth of the country”.
