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Nepra renews K-Electric’s licence for six months

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ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Thursday provisionally renewed K-Electric’s (KE) distribution licence for six months. 

The electric utility company, in a statement, said that K-Electric has been informed about the decision regarding the extension. 

“The 20-year licence period of the K-Electric is ending today and the renewal of the licence will be decided after a public hearing,” said Nepra. 

Nepra also said that the power supplying company had applied for a 20-year renewal of the licence, however, it has been given a provisional extension of six months. 

In February, KE CEO Syed Moonis Abdullah Alvi said that the company had applied for a non-exclusive distribution licence after its current distribution exclusivity was going to end in June this year. 

The request for power distribution unbundling will end KE’s monopoly in Karachi and may attract other market players to invest.

“KE itself wanted to operate in a competitive environment along with other power sector market players, rather than having monopolistic distribution licence,” Alvi had said.

He was of the view that Pakistan has to shift towards indigenous sources of power production in future.

“We must ensure that the next generation is transitioned to indigenous fuel as it is not in our interest to buy expensive fuel, for which all partners must contribute.

Before the summer of 2023, he continued, KE would have 900 megawatts of electricity available by way of billions of rupees investment.

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Pakistan’s gold prices are still declining; see the most recent

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The price of 10-gram gold reduced by Rs943 to settle at Rs207,733, while the price of gold dropped by Rs1200 to close at Rs242,300 a tola, according to the Sindh Sarafa Jewellers Association.

In the global market, the price of the precious metal fell by $10 to $2,349 per ounce, resulting in losses.

At 04:48 GMT, the spot price of gold had dropped by 0.2% to $2,354.77 per ounce. In the previous session, prices reached a two-week high.

American gold futures dropped 0.6% to $2,361.

Spot silver decreased by 0.4% to $28.03 per ounce, while palladium remained steady at $978.03 and platinum decreased by 0.1% to $992.89.

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Pakistan and the IMF begin talks for a new loan.

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Pakistan is requesting a $6 to $8 billion bailout package from the international lender over the next three to four years to address its financial troubles.

A mission team led by Nathan Porter, the IMF’s Mission Chief in Pakistan, is meeting with a Pakistani delegation led by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.

According to sources familiar with the situation, Islamabad may face more difficult options, such as raising power and gas bills.

Mr. Aurganzeb informed the IMF team that the country’s economy has improved as a result of the IMF loan package, and Islamabad is ready to sign a new loan programme to further develop.

The IMF mission expressed satisfaction with Islamabad’s efforts to revive the country’s struggling economy.

The IMF praised Pakistan’s economic growth in its staff report earlier this week, but warned that the outlook remains challenging, with very high downside risks.

The country nearly avoided collapse last summer, and its $350 billion economy has stabilized since the end of the last IMF program, with inflation falling to roughly 17% in April from a record high of 38% last May.

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Petrol prices are likely to drop significantly beginning May 16.

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According to sources, the government is set to decrease petrol prices by Rs 14 per litre and diesel prices by Rs 10 on May 16 for the next fortnight’s revision.

Last month, the government reduced the price of fuel and high-speed diesel by Rs5.45 and Rs8.42 per fortnight, respectively.

The current fuel price is Rs288.49 per litre, while the HSD price is Rs281.96.

Meanwhile, oil prices fell further on Monday, as signs of sluggish fuel consumption and comments from U.S. Federal Reserve officials dimmed optimism for interest rate reduction, which may slow growth and reduce fuel demand in the world’s largest economy.

Brent crude prices down 25 cents, or 0.3%, to $82.54 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 19 cents, or 0.2%, to $78.07 per barrel.

Oil prices also declined on signals of poor demand, according to ANZ analysts, as gasoline and distillate inventories in the United States increased in the week before the start of the driving season.

Refiners throughout the world are dealing with falling diesel profitability as new refineries increase supply and warm weather in the northern hemisphere and weak economic activity reduce demand.

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