LAHORE: All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) has asked the prime minister to get his announced Rs3 per unit cut in industrial electricity tariff implemented immediately, saying the water and power ministry is providing a relief of only 30 paisas under fuel price adjustment surcharge.

Aptma also demanded of the government to run the RLNG terminal to full capacity so that gas could be bought by textile industry for generating power and operating textile units in Punjab.

In a press conference, Aptma Punjab Chairman Sheikh Aamir Fayyaz said that as many as 110 textile units had already been closed down in Punjab because of high electricity tariff, limited supply of RLNG, severe liquidity crunch, a number of taxes on exports and less cotton production.

He added the consistent decline in country’s exports in current fiscal year would cost Pakistan around $3.5 billion and force the country to lose competitiveness in the global market.

“The Rs3.63 per unit surcharges are actually line losses, theft and non-payment of bills the government is charging from the textile industry. True implementation of the PM’s announcement would bring down the tariff to Rs9 per unit,” Fayyaz said.

He said the government was also not passing on RLNG benefit to the textile industry as only 200 MMCFD gas was being provided to the fertiliser, CNG, IPPs and textile industry against the RLNG terminal capacity of 600 MMCFD.

He said the government also owed Rs200 billion to the export-oriented industry out of which Rs100bn worth export refund claims were related to the textile industry.

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2016