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LCCI demands steps to overcome power shortage

LAHORE: The chairman of the LCCI Standing Committee on Customs, Tariff Valuation and Imports, Irfan Qaisar, has expressed grave concern at the worsening power supply in the country and has urged the government to allow duty-free import of solar cells and batteries to promote solar energy.

In a statement issued here on Wednesday, he said loadshedding affected industrial, commercial and domestic users alike. He said frequent closure of industrial units due to power shortage and loadshedding reduced their production and rendered them uncompetitive in the international market.

He said the government should take the energy crisis seriously and prepare both long and short-term plans to solve this problem.

He stated that long term-plan included utilizing hydel resources by building big water reservoirs and power generation units, which was a cheaper way to produce energy. The government had taken some steps in this regard, but it should take more bold decisions and go for Kalabagh Dam and other big projects to produce power in line with the increasing demand, he added. He said Pakistan should also go for alternative energy resources like other countries. As for short-term measures, he said, the government should pay attention towards allowing such generators and apparatuses duty free or at minimal rates, which could help domestic consumers and industrial units to have power according to their needs. He urged the government to reduce customs duty on generators with capacity from 1kva to 1,000kva to five percent and UPS to 10 percent.

Mr Qaisar also demanded cut in duty on sealed batteries not manufactured in the country to 10 percent from the existing 20 percent. He was of the view that these measures were necessary to facilitate the business community, which was facing a lot of trouble in marketing Pakistani products in a highly competitive global market. staff report

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