May 05, 2025 (MLN): The Petroleum Division submitted a summary to the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) seeking an extension in the validity period of sovereign guarantees issued against a Rs50 billion running finance facility obtained by Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) for LNG payments.
The Committee discussed the matter and approved extension up to June 2026 of the said sovereign guarantees on the basis of improved cash flows of the company.
A meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet was held today under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb.
The ECC also considered a summary by the Power Division regarding the solarization of 27,000 agri tube-wells in Balochistan as decided by the Prime Minister on 2nd July 2024, at an estimated cost of Rs55bn born by the Government of Pakistan and Government of Balochistan at a ratio of 70% and 30% respectively.
The ECC was told that an amount of Rs14bn has already been released by the federal government while the remaining Rs24.5bn is now proposed to be released.
The ECC deliberated on the matter and approved transfer of the requisite funds to ensure timely completion of the program.
The ECC further instructed the Power Division to closely monitor implementation of key components of the project, particularly the disconnection of tubewells from the grid and removal of transformers and fixtures for every batch of feeders, as agreed under the project.
The ECC directed the Power Division to report back on the progress of the solar tube-well project in July. It also considered and approved various Technical Supplementary Grants (TSGs) submitted by different ministries and divisions.
These included Rs300 million for the Cabinet Division to operationalize new regulatory authorities; Rs1.27bn for the Finance Division as part of PSDP project transfers from the defunct PWD; and Rs250m for the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training as part of the Rs500m grant approved for upgrading Sadiq Public School Bahawalpur.
Additional approvals included Rs109m for the Ministry of Interior and Narcotics Control for UN peacekeeping deployments, Rs500m for operational needs of Frontier Corps (KP) North, Rs25.9m for maintenance of a Cessna aircraft, Rs2.32m for construction of Michni Training Centre in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Rs556.8m for the Ministry of Law and Justice to functionalize 36 benches of the Appellate Tribunal Inland Revenue.
The release of funds by the Finance Division would coincide with the execution of the project.
Additionally, Rs106m TSG was approved for the Power Division for programme implementation and awareness activities by the National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (NEECA) under its nationwide fan replacement programme, aimed at replacing 88m inefficient fans across Pakistan to reduce peak electricity demand by approximately 5,000 megawatts.
Towards the end, the ECC was also briefed by the Power Division on the implementation status of the ECC decision dated 4th September 2024 regarding the ‘Status of Governance of all DISCOs whose boards have been reconstituted with a view to improving the governance of DISCOs”.
The ECC was told that the BoDs for all DISCOs had been reconstituted, except for SEPCO and HESCO, where the process was in the finalization stage, as per the press release issued today.
Similarly, a monthly performance monitoring mechanism evaluating key operational, commercial, and financial parameters, had been implemented by the PPMC for all DISCOs.
Additionally, strategic roadmaps in line with the National Electricity Policy had also been formulated and signed in February 2025 by the respective Chairpersons of the BoDs and CEOs of all DISCOs.
The Power Division also shared a summary of the performance of DISCOs in terms of T&D losses and recovery up to December 2024.
The meeting was attended by Minister for Power Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari, Minister for Investment Mr. Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, along with federal secretaries and senior officials from relevant ministries and divisions.
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Posted on: 2025-05-05T21:58:49+05:00
