Page 12 - AsiaElec Week 21

AsiaElec
NEWS IN BRIEF
AsiaElec
POLICY
Pakistan defers probe into
private power sector’s
alleged wrongdoing
Pakistan has deferred for two months an inquiry into suspected contract violations by independent power producers which may have cost the national exchequer billions of dollars.
Hobbled by decades of energy shortages, successive Pakistani governments have pursued private sector investment in power production, offering lucrative returns backed by sovereign guarantees.
Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government ordered late last month the investigation into the IPPs’ contracts after he was presented with a 278-page report by a government committee which outlined a number of alleged transgressions.
However, a cabinet meeting Khan chaired on Tuesday decided to defer the probe. “In order to provide a chance of meaningful negotiations with the IPPs, constitution of inquiry commission ....may be deferred for two months,” said the meeting minutes seen by Reuters.
Information Minister Shibli Faraz said the decision was taken due to the government’s focus on measures to fight COVID-19. “We will not leave it unattended,” he told a news conference in Islamabad.
Around 40 independent power producers operate in Pakistan. Company representatives
have consistently rejected allegations of wrongdoing.
Khan had also ordered the report, which alleges the IPPs made billions of dollars in questionable deals, to be made public. That too will be held up for another two months.
COMPANY NEWS
Doosan Group struggles
to sell assets to tide over
credit squeeze
Heavy machinery and power equipment- focused Doosan Group is seeking to ease its severe credit squeeze stemming from
its flagship Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. by coming up with a self- rescue plan that centres on sales of assets.
The country’s 15th-largest conglomerate said late last month that it will push ahead with a plan to sell its shares and non-core assets in a bid to secure more than 3 trillion won (US$2.4 billion) in cash.
At the request of its creditors, including the Korea Development Bank (KDB) and the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank), Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers, a South Korean accounting firm, has been vetting the books of the group’s affiliates to decide the direction of the final self-rescue plan.
Among the group’s affiliates, Doosan Solus Co., a South Korean copper foil maker for electric vehicles, and Doosan Fuel Cell Co., a power generator maker, have been reported to be on the list for sale.
After the announcement of the self-rescue plan, main creditors KDB and Eximbank accepted the plan and decided to extend credit worth 80 billion won to the group.
Earlier, the creditors provided the cash- strapped group with 1.6 trillion won, but the group failed to overcome its liquidity shortage.
The group intends to reveal concrete plans to get back on track and to start the plans no later than May.
An extended slump at Doonsan Heavy has been cited as the main reason for the group’s credit squeeze.
DEMAND
India’s peak power demand
slowly reaches pre-
lockdown levels
ndia’s power demand that had nosedived
is slowly getting to its pre-lockdown levels, with the country registering a peak electricity demand of 160 gigawatts (GW) on Saturday.
This assumes importance as energy consumption, especially electricity and refinery products, is usually linked to overall demand in the economy. This comes in
the backdrop of India slowly opening up
for business, with factories opening, trains running and domestic airline operations set to resume from major cities from 25 May.
According to state-owned Power System Operation Corp Ltd (Posoco) that oversees India’s critical electricity load management functions, as compared to a peak demand of 4070 million units (MU) registered on 23 May last year, the peak demand was 3669 MU on Saturday (23 May).
“We are seeing electricity demand coming back because of two reasons—-pickup
in economic activity as allowed by the government and hot weather,” said a senior government official requesting anonymity.
During April, India’s peak power demand hovered between 2700-2900 MU and touched 3300 MU during the first ten days of May. While it went up to 3600 MU during 11 May- 20 May period, it dipped again due to the very severe cyclonic storm Amphan that pounded India’s eastern region with winds of 155-165 kmph gusting up to 190 kmph.
While the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government imposed a janta curfew on 22 March, it put in place the world’s strictest lockdown starting 25 March to 14 April, that was later extended till 3 May.
“With more trains coming on tracks, the demand from railways that account for 500 MU per day is expected to go up. Also, due to the relaxation in rules, factories are starting with limited shifts which is reflecting on the power demand load pattern,” said the official
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Week 21 27•May•2020