KARACHI: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has allowed Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) to raise electricity tariff by 58 paisas per unit.
The fresh hike in power tariff has been approved for the month of October in the form of fuel adjustment charges. According to sources, NEPRA has expressed its apprehensions about the performance of KESC-run power plants. It said that a hefty amount was spent on Bin Qasim Power Plant, which failed to produce desired results.
NEPRA Chief Khalid Saeed urged the KSEC to undertake metering of gas-run plants. On the other hand, the KESC has refused to accept NEPRA’s instructions regarding metering of gas-run plants.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s biggest listed firm, the Oil and Gas Development Co. Ltd. (OGDCL), on Monday announced it will make a joint bid for BP’s assets in Pakistan with Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (PPL).
BP announced its plans to sell its upstream assets in Pakistan in July, as part of a $10 billion global asset sale aimed at raising cash to pay for its Gulf of Mexico oil spill. “We will bid jointly with PPL,” OGDCL spokesman Basharat Mirza said, adding the bid will be submitted later in the day.
He did not give any details of the pricing. OGDCL already has some stakes in BP’s Pakistan assets. PPL is Pakistan’s second-largest listed firm by market value. BP’s upstream assets and related operations, which it plans to divest, include nine producing and exploration onshore blocks and four offshore exploration blocks in the Arabian Sea, according to official sources.
They contribute about 14 per cent of Pakistan’s total oil production and 6 per cent of its domestic gas production. UBS analysts estimated the worth of BP’s fields in Pakistan at $690 million in a research note in July. BP’s main assets are in Badin in the southern Sindh province, comprising four concessions – Badin-I, Badin-II , Badin-IIR and Badin-III. Of the four concessions, OGDCL has pre-emptive rights in all but Badin-I block, a source said last month. They also said then that if it wins, OGDCL will not seek direct involvement and will operate the acquired assets through a company, jointly owned by it and PPL – Dailymailnews
