ISLAMABAD: PMLN President and National Assembly Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif has lashed out against PTI government’s false accusations against PMLN government regarding power plants and electricity transmission and has said that the ongoing load-shedding is nothing other than a glaring proof of the Imran government’s incompetence and mismanagement.
In a statement, Shehbaz said PTI falsely blamed that PMLN set up too many power plants. This extensive load shedding today gives a lie to it’s baseless accusation. And it is a fact that PTI government is setting up more solar, wind and gas-fired plants, so the accusation of having more than necessary power plants is just false and laughable.
The PMLN President said PTI also lies and says the plants set up by PMLN were expensive. Yet after 3 years of this government that lives to conduct fake media trial of opposition leaders and witch-hunts by NAB and FIA, this government hasn’t been able to produce one example of a power plant set up anywhere in the world that is cheaper. We again reiterate that we saved over Rs 200 billion over the NEPRA estimated costs in the three LNG-fired power plants we set-up and challenge anyone to find one example of a more efficient or cheaper plant anywhere in the world.
PTI lies and says PMLN didn’t set up enough transmission lines. That is simply not true. PTI cannot name one power plant that cannot be fully evacuated due to transmission shortage. Not one plant. In 2019 this incompetent government was able to transmit over 23000 megawatts and in 2020 in was able to transmit over 25000 megawatts all on generation and transmission capabilities set up, Alhamdolillah, by PMLN.
Today the only LNG terminals set up were set up by PMLN, the only transnational LNG pipeline has been installed by PMLN and the only cheaper LNG being bought is on long term contracts done by PMLN. PTI has so far failed to buy a single LNG cargo on a long term contract and it is buying some of the most expensive LNG in the world on short term contracts. Moreover due to its corruption and greed to use Furnace oil and diesel, it refused to buy LNG on long term contracts at historically cheaper rates during the covid crisis or convert our existing long term contracts to cheaper rates. Today PTI is paying three times the price for the same LNG. For each short term cargo that we buy for $12 per mmbtu instead of $4 per mmbtu, we are paying $24 million extra per cargo and for long term cargo that we failed to convert, we are paying $12 million extra. This Pakistan today is paying $216 million every month due to PTI’s corruption and incompetence.
He said the menace of load shedding had ended in Pakistan after 5 years of consistent efforts and hard work by PMLN under the visionary leadership of Mian Nawaz Sharif. Yet after 3 years of gross mismanagement and corruption, the PTI government has brought back debilitating power and gas load shedding to Pakistan. He said this has to be the most glaring example of incompetence even by PTI’s low standards.
The National Assembly Opposition Leader pointed out that furnace oil is a fuel that PTI and its ministers love to use and which produces electricity that’s twice as expensive as that produced by natural gas or LNG. Yet even furnace oil that PTI is buying is the most expensive in the world. It is paying over Rs 30,000 per ton more for imported furnace oil than if it had planned and bought the furnace oil locally.
He reminded that PMLN also set up coal-fired plants that today produce the cheaper thermal energy in Pakistan. No power plant ever set up in Pakistan produces cheaper power that the coal-fired plant set up by PMLN.
Shehbaz said the entire value chain of the power and petroleum supply has been mismanaged by PTI’s corruption and incompetence. The resultant load shedding is causing untold misery to Pakistani and billions in losses to businesses, he concluded.
