Business

Electricity transmission restored across country: Power Division

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

An accidental fault had triggered an almost day-long power outage in the Southern parts of Pakistan.
The fault could not be fixed despite passing of more than 24 hours since it was detected.
Power Division says only routine power load-shedding is being carried out in country.

LAHORE/ISLAMABAD: After an almost day-long outage, the Power Division on Friday said that electricity transmission and generation have been restored across the country adding that only routine power load-shedding is being carried.

“Electricity transmission and generation have been restored across Pakistan including restoration of full supply from national grid to Karachi,” the division said in a statement.

Power outage yet to be controlled

Earlier today, sources within the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) had said that the countrywide power crisis, caused due to an “accidental fault” in the national grid, had not been controlled yet.

Sources in the NTDC said that it was a major breakdown and could not be controlled even after 24 hours as the authorities have yet to identify the fault.

The sources added that cities have been facing four hours of loadshedding while rural areas are suffering from a 12-hour-long power outage.

Meanwhile, power plants have not been fully energised and the country still faces a 4,500MW power shortfall while the frequency fluctuation is making things more complex.

The electricity is being restored from the power plants slowly to the system, said the sources. They added that this is the 16th breakdown in the last 10 years.

Large parts of the country were in dark for more than 12 hours on Thursday after a fault was detected in the national grid’s southern transmission system.

Energy Minister Khurram Dastagir said that an “accidental fault” triggered the breakdown and announced the establishment of a committee to probe the matter and submit a report within four days.

‘Power supply will improve’

Meanwhile, the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) spokesperson said that the electricity demand in the region is 1,280MW while the national grid is supplying 1,080MW.

Once the electricity supply is back to normal, the situation will improve, said the spokesperson.

‘Power supply stabilised in Karachi’

In a statement, K-Electric said that the supply of electricity in Karachi was restored in a phase-wise manner.

KE began phase-wise restoration efforts with first priority on strategic installations such as KWSB pumping stations, airports, and hospitals, said the power utility.

Later, the supply was diverted to residential areas including but not limited to PECHS, Orangi, Lyari, Ibrahim Hyderi, Nazimabad, and Defence Housing Authority.

The technical constraints at the national grid may persist over the next 48 hours and to manage the constraints, KE may temporarily curtail power supply to industrial zones during nighttime hours to facilitate residential areas.

The power supply company said it may also have to conduct loadshedding.

Business

There are US$13,280.5 million in foreign exchange reserves in Pakistan.

Published

5 hours ago

Farwa

According to a representative for the central bank, as of April 19, 2024, the nation’s total liquid foreign reserves were valued at US$ 13,280.5 million. A loss of US$74 million left the State Bank of Pakistan’s foreign reserves at US$7,981.2 million.

Commercial banks have $5,299.3 million in reserves for Pakistan.

In the week that concluded on April 12, the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) foreign exchange reserves increased by $14.4 million to $8.055 billion.

“In a weekly statement, SBP stated that it has repaid US$ 1 billion in principal and interest on Pakistan’s International Bond, which matures this week.”

But at $13.374 billion, the nation’s total reserves decreased by $68 million. In the same way, commercial banks’ reserves dropped to $5.319 billion, a reduction of $82 million.

Business

NIMA seminar to increase Pakistan’s ship recycling industry’s capacity

Published

5 hours ago

Farwa

According to a release, important players from a range of maritime industries attended the conference to discuss issues facing the shipping sector.

It further stated that the symposium cleared the path for the resurgence of a sustainable future in ship recycling.

Participants in the conference included representatives of the Gadani Ship Breaking Labour Union, PSBA, KS&EW, KPT, PMSA, GEMS, and the federal and Balochistani governments.

Furthermore, global perspectives and ideas were offered by international specialists such as Rabia Razzaque from UN-ILO and Professor Raphael Baumler from the World Maritime University.

The seminar emphasized Pakistan’s capacity to emerge as a pioneer in the field of environmentally friendly ship recycling.

In order to protect the environment and the safety of employees, the participants emphasized the importance of following international standards and regulations.

During his speech, Chief Guest Senator Nisar Ahmed Khoro emphasized the importance of the maritime industry’s resurgence and the crucial necessity for coordinated efforts from all parties involved.

A new age of economic prosperity, worker safety, and environmental responsibility for Pakistan’s maritime industry was called for as he urged the stakeholders to work together on a comprehensive SENSREC program.

Vice Admiral Ahmed Saeed (Retd), the president of NIMA, emphasized the significance of environmental stewardship and safety in ship recycling procedures.

Business

Inflows into the Roshan Digital Account surged to $7.660 billion on March 24.

Published

5 hours ago

Farwa

According to the data, remittance inflows for the month of March totaled US$ 182 million, whereas they were US$ 141 million in February and US$ 142 million in January 2024.

Millions of Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRPs), including those who own Non-Resident Pakistan Origin Cards (POCs), can now engage in banking, payment, and investing activities in Pakistan with the help of these accounts, which offer cutting-edge banking solutions.

According to a statement from the State Bank of Pakistan, the number of accounts registered under the program increased by 11,091 from 668,701 accounts in February 2024 to 679,792 accounts in March 2024.

As of March 2024, the central bank reported that foreign nationals of Pakistan have invested US $312 million in Naya Pakistan Certificates, US $528 million in Naya Pakistan Islamic Certificates, and US $31 million in Roshan Equity Investment.

It is important to note that former prime minister Imran Khan introduced the Roshan Digital Account initiative in September 2020 with the goal of giving Pakistanis living abroad access to digital banking services for the first time.