October 26, 2008	Sunday	Shawwal 26, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Oct 25: President Asif Ali Zardari asked the ministry of water and power on Saturday to reduce the duration of loadshedding from 11 hours to a “minimum level feasible”.

The president was chairing an emergency meeting to discuss the recent increase in tariff and power shortages.

An official told Dawn the president was informed that water releases from the Mangla dam had increased to 25,000 cusecs daily from 8,000 cusecs and as a result power shortages had declined to 4,700MW from 7,500MW last week.

Similarly, the latest disbursement of Rs60 billion to independent power producers (IPPs) and an ease in the supply of furnace oil have also reduced the shortfall in the furnace oil-generated power to 700MW from 1,000MW. However, the IPPs are yet to achieve the target of producing 6,000MW.

A senior official at the water ministry told Dawn that Mr Zardari proposed an option of ‘hedging’ and ‘future contracts’ to purchase oil at lower rates.

The president was informed that no country was willing to provide oil to Pakistan on differed payments, including Saudi Arab. Talks were also held with Iran, but it did not make any ‘solid promise’ for offering oil on differed payments.

“The president has also suggested the option of barter trade,” the official said, adding that Mr Zardari wanted to provide exportable items, including rice, to Middle Eastern countries in return for oil because the country was running out of cash.

According to an official announcement, the president said there was no alternative of reducing the pass-through cost of electricity and asked the ministry of water and power to consider whether it could be done through commodity trading enabling the government to book oil in the international market on a long-term basis.

Water and Power Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf briefed the meeting on the availability of power, the spectre of loadshedding and the prevalent tariff structure and its recent increase.

He said that a special committee, constituted by prime minister to review the hike in power tariff, had already decided to provide an interim relief to consumers by asking them to pay 60 per cent of their total bills issued this month. A sub-committee had also been set up to review the tariff structure before a final decision was taken, he added.

The president ordered an early resolution of the tariff issue.