Shahzad said the APTMA members have decided to negotiate with the Ministry of Water and Power during the current week for uninterrupted electricity supply to the textile industry and to avoid pushing it to destruction, as it would be detrimental to the country.
He said that there had been no load shedding in the textile industry before May 2012. Similarly, on the gas supply, the industry faced load shedding for 77 days in 2008-09, 95 days in 2009-10, 136 days in 2010-11, 185 days in 2011-12 and 62 days in 2012-13 until the 10th of December. So far, one-third capacity is closed and another 50% would be affected from next week onwards when there would be severe shortage of electricity and gas. Total load of the textile industry on the LESCO system is 550MW per day out of which only 300MW per day is being supplied.
He said that the textile industry in Punjab was under severe pressure due to the energy crisis and mills were heading towards forced closure. Electricity load shedding had increased to eight hours a day today from four hours a day, he added. According to him, there was also gas curtailment to the industry, which was likely to be worse from next week. But electricity supply to the textile industry had reached an alarming level, hitting hard the industrial potential of earning $1 billion per month besides providing jobs to millions of workers in Punjab, he said, adding: "Some 70% of the textile industry is situated in Punjab."
Chairman APTMA Punjab lamented that the industry was being exposed to intentional electricity cuts despite the fact that the Ministry of Water & Power had the capacity of generating 18000MW, out of which 6000MW belongs to hydel and 12000MW to thermal generation. Total demand of electricity in the country is not more than 11000MW, which can easily be met by thermal generation. But still the textile industry was facing unscheduled load shedding that started from May 2012 with incremental increases with every passing month. Today the situation has become worse and it is becoming untenable for the industry to keep its operations intact.
Speaking on the occasion, Group Leader APTMA Gohar Ejaz said the APTMA leadership would make sure that there was no closure of the textile industry for even an hour while persuading the government to meet the shortages for electricity generation. He said that some 10 million workers were attached with the textile industry in Punjab, bearing the burden of 50 million families in total. He said that the Advisor to Prime Minister on Petroleum and Natural Resources Dr Asim Hussain had directed the SNGPL to provide gas to the Captive Power Plants (CPPs) of the textile industry for three days during the current week, which was a good omen.
Central Chairman APTMA Ahsan Bashir appreciated President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister of Pakistan Raja Pervez Ashraf and Advisor to Prime Minister on Petroleum and Natural Resources Dr Asim Hussain for the level of support that they had provided over the last four and half years. He said that the government has proved time and again that it was functioning with a pro-industry approach and expressed the hope that sanity would prevail and no one would be allowed to close the industry for even a single day.