Energy crisis: LNG import can lead to cut in power tariff

We have asked state-owned power distribution companies to undertake an audit of losses in their respective areas in order to have a clear picture,” said Ali. PHOTO: FILE

LAHORE: 

A reduction in power tariff is linked with the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which will probably start next year. Currently, the government is producing a large share of power with diesel, costing Rs24 per unit, forcing it to pay the difference and putting an additional cost burden after increase in furnace oil prices from Rs83,000 to Rs89,000 per ton in just a few days.

This was stated by Abid Sher Ali, State Minister for Water and Power, while speaking at a press conference at the Wapda House on Saturday.

He said the government will overcome shortage of natural gas to a large extent next year with the help of imports, power shortfall will be bridged and electricity will be made affordable for the people.

He said the government was aware of repercussions of the harsh decisions pertaining to energy production. The government is doing its job with good intentions and the country will overcome the crisis, he said.

Pointing out that circular debt has increased and power losses have swelled due to multiple reasons, he said steps are being taken to address the problems. It will take time as the situation has worsened over the last many years, he added.

There are 90 feeders in the Peshawar Electric Supply Company’s (Pesco) area of operation, which suffer losses of over 90%, some as high as 99.99%, he claimed.

According to Ali, 60 feeders under Pesco consume Rs6 billion worth of power in a month even if electricity is supplied for only six hours a day.

He said a law would be presented in the next cabinet meeting to make power theft a non-bailable offence.

“We have asked state-owned power distribution companies to undertake an audit of losses in their respective areas in order to have a clear picture,” said Ali. “We want to know the exact nature of theft and losses, so we can take action against the menace and avoid penalising honest customers.”

After clearing circular debt, the government has been able to reduce outages by six to eight hours a day, he added.

Ali announced that 120-megawatt Dubair Khawar Hydropower project and 22MW Satpara Dam would be completed next month and talked about Qatari and Russian interest in coal-fired power plants at Gadani.

He was optimistic about tangible progress on these projects in the next three to four months including award of contracts.

He claimed that the deficit in supply and demand of electricity has been brought down to 1,200-1,300MW.

As hydroelectric power generation is going down rapidly due to seasonal dip in water availability, reliance on thermal power is increasing day by day, he pointed out. “Nowadays, we are producing only 2,000MW from hydro sources against peak generation of about 7,000MW

Brazil freezes assets linked to Alstom, Siemens price-fixing

In August, Sao Paulo state prosecutors launched a probe based on documents from Brazil’s antitrust authority CADE into alleged price-fixing. PHOTO: AFP/FILE

SAO PAULO: 

Brazilian judges have frozen assets worth $26 million involved in an alleged cartel suspected of price-rigging during bidding for Sao Paulo’s metro rail systems.

French engineering firm Alstom, Germany’s Siemens and other foreign firms such as Spain’s CAF, Japan’s Mitsui and Bombardier of Canada were involved in the price-rigging scheme, according to Brazilian media.

In a statement, the judges said they froze the assets of five people, including three former heads of Sao Paulo commuter rail company CPTM, and of three companies, “including two suspected of having been used to commit crimes.”

The text, issued late Thursday, did not specifically name the companies involved, although it referred to the “Alstom-Siemens” case. It noted that the frozen funds would be used to “compensate the state and society.”

The money was found on “bank accounts, investment instruments and shares owned by the accused as part of the probe into crimes of corruption, tax evasion and money laundering related to bidding for the metro (rail system),” the statement added.

In August, Sao Paulo state prosecutors launched a probe based on documents from Brazil’s antitrust authority CADE into alleged price-fixing by several international companies involved in bidding for the city’s metro rail systems from 1999 to 2009.

The daily Folha de Sao Paulo reported that Alstom paid $20 million in 1990 alone to win public contracts in this country. Last month, Siemens said it was ready to discuss compensation should it be proven to have engaged in price-fixing.

The alleged price-fixing occurred under the rule of the Brazilian Social Democratic Party in Sao Paulo state.

Sao Paulo Governor Geraldo Alckmin’s PSDB, which is in opposition to President Dilma Rousseff’s ruling Workers Party nationally, has denied any wrongdoing.

The move comes after recent widespread protests across the country against alleged corruption in state transport programmes, which escalated after government mismanagement of the situation.

Alternative energy: Work on 10 biogas plants begins

Biogas plants are being installed for research purposes to evolve future strategies for the construction of such plants.

FAISALABAD: 

Construction work on biogas plants has begun under the supervision of Pakistan Domestic Biogas Programme (PDBP).

These plants will have the capacity to hold 50 to 100 cubic meter of biogas and will be used to generate electricity.

PDBP sources said that initially construction work on 10 biogas plants has begun with a capacity of 50 to 100 cubic meters and these will assist in running 5 to 10 kilowatt (kw) generators.

Biogas plants are being installed for research purposes to evolve future strategies for the construction of such plants as smaller plants will pave the way for putting in place bigger ones.

Under the PDBP, more than 300 domestic biogas plants are functional in rural areas of 12 districts in central Punjab. More than 150 tube wells that had been previously operating on diesel engine have been switched over to biogas since last year which has provided cheaper sources of water for irrigation purposes.

PDBP has claimed that more than 400 skilled workers are engaged with the biogas plant construction and the sector provides employment to more than 1,200 people.

PDBP is a non-governmental organisation and is part of the Rural Support Programme Network (RSPN) working for the welfare of people at the national level.

It is an organisation that took the initiative for biogas development in 2009 for the purpose of improving living standards of rural population with financial assistance from the Netherlands Embassy. The programme is being assisted by the Netherlands Development Organisation and Winrock International.

Yevgeny Plushenko back with Winning Title

Russian figure skating great Yevgeny Plushenko boosted his hopes of competing at the 2014 Winter Olympics by making a winning return to competition at the Volvo Cup in Riga.

Skating to 'The Best of Plushenko' medley of music, the 31-year-old Turin Olympic champion said he had proved to himself he was back on track for the Sochi Games.

Plushenko achieved a personal best mark of 180.91 points for his free skate for a new personal best total of 263.25 to finish ahead of compatriots Alexander Petrov (218.75) and Sergei Borodulin (202.40).

However, because the Volvo Cup is a Senior B-level event, Plushenko's score does not count towards his personal records.

'I was a bit nervous but not as much as I was ahead of the short programme,' Plushenko said.

'Today I performed well the programme that I've prepared for the Olympics and proved that I'm back. The most important thing is that I managed to prove it to myself.'

Plushenko, a silver medallist in the 2002 Salt Lake City and 2010 Vancouver Olympics, added that despite feeling confident he remained cautious.

'Now I really feel I managed to perform a comeback,' said Plushenko, who has not competed since withdrawing injured from the European championships in January.

'But I don't even try to predict anything after undergoing 12 operations.

'I'm looking forward to continuing competing and hope to perform at my fourth Olympics. But in sport I just live for the day. I'm very happy with today's free routine and a quadruple, which I managed to perform.

'But most of all I'm happy that I didn't get tired after my free programme. Especially taking into consideration that I was close to my top performance today. This free routine is almost all of my life!'

Earlier this year, Plushenko said that he would take part in the ISU Grand Prix meet in Moscow on November 22-24 and probably then in Russian nationals and the European championships ahead of the Sochi Games.

But on Saturday he refused to unveil his plans for the remainder of the season saying that he may change his preparation plans to be in his best form for the home Games in Sochi.

'I just haven't decided yet whether to perform at Moscow stage of ISU Grand Prix circuit,' he said.

'My main goal is my fourth Olympics, where I want to earn a place at the podium. And I'm ready to change my plans radically to prepare for the Games in the best possible way.'

Plushenko believes he is close to his previous best adding however he still has plenty of work to do.

'I feel I'm not so far from the peak of my form. But there's still a lot of homework to do to reach it.'

In the summer, the three-time world and seven-time European champion underwent back surgery in a bid to make a comeback in time for the Olympics on home soil.

Qatar “reacting” to criticism, says Blatter

After meeting senior officials on Saturday, including Emir Tamim bin al-Thani (pictured left above), Blatter said Qatar was 'reacting' to criticism from international rights and labor groups about a lack of safeguards for mainly South Asian migrant laborers.

'The labor laws will be amended and special attention will be paid also to inspections of the workers' accommodation,' Blatter said in Doha.

Britain's Guardian newspaper had claimed in September that 44 Nepalese workers had died on World Cup construction sites in Qatar.

'Another date'

Blatter added that more consultations were needed on suggestions – raised on Friday in the United Arab Emirates – that the Cup be held at the end of 2022.

'If it's possible to play at another date, it will be better,' Blatter said, adding that it could not be held in January or February because that would clash with that year's Winter Olympic Games.

'We have together with the Olympics, the IOC, practically the same media, television and marketing partners and we cannot have two competitions in the same time,' he said.

He also rejected the notion of Qatar co-hosting the World Cup with other nations in the Gulf region.

'The decision of the FIFA is to play in one country and that will be in Qatar;' Blatter said.

Last month, FIFA said it was launching a consultation process to decide whether to shift the tournament from its traditional June-July slot to a cooler phase of the year.

'Climate of fear'

In early October, the Building and Wood Worker's International (BWI) trade union federation said officials had found 'widespread' evidence of labor standard violations and a 'climate of fear' during a four-day visit to the gas-rich Gulf state.

The DWI said its team met many workers from Nepal, India, Bangladesh and the Philippines who spoke of the lack of medical care and their inability to lodge official complaints.

At the time, the head of Qatar's National Human Rights Committee, Ali Al-Marri, admitted there were some problems but denied claims of Nepalese being treated like 'slave

Record-breakers Bayern relish ‘German El Clasico’

European champions Bayern Munich set a new Bundesliga record of 37 games without defeat, then turned their attentions on their showdown with main German league rivals Borussia Dortmund.

Bayern's 3-0 win at Munich's Allianz Arena against Bavarian neighbours Augsburg saw them break Hamburg's 30-year-old record of 36 games without loss set in January 1983.

'The record is unbelievable, it's not easy to go 37 games without defeat. Congratulations to the club,' said Bayern coach Pep Guardiola, who took charge in June.

But goal-scorer Franck Ribery said their next league game, at second-placed Dortmund in a fortnight, is crucial after Borussia's 2-1 defeat at Wolfsburg left them trailing Bayern by four points.

It will be a repeat of last season's Champions League final, which Bayern president Uli Hoeness has dubbed 'the German El Clasico'.

'The next game against Borussia Dortmund is vital for us,' said Ribery.

'It's a great chance to build a lead at the top and extend our record.'

Guardiola also set a personal record as he celebrated his 12th league match without defeat -- the best start by a new Bundesliga coach in the league's history with 32 points.

Germany centre-back Jerome Boateng opened the scoring when he headed home from a corner after just five minutes.

France winger Franck Ribery then smashed home a direct free-kick on 42 minutes before Germany's Thomas Mueller netted a penalty in the fifth minute of injury time.

Bayern have now won 31 of their last 37 Bundesliga matches.

This was their second milestone of the week after they equalled Barcelona's record from the 2002/03 season of nine consecutive Champions League wins with a 1-0 at Viktoria Pilsen.

The Bavarians equalled or set 25 league records under Guardiola's predecessor Jupp Heynckes last season.

Heynckes stood down in May, with his side unbeaten in their previous 25 league games, after Bayern won the treble of European, cup and Bundesliga titles last season.

'Congratulations to the club and a special shout-out to Jupp Heynckes, architect of last season's success,' said Boateng.

'The record itself wasn't really a topic of discussion for us.

'Our focus was purely on the game and wanting to win, which we managed, and now we can celebrate the record on top of that.'

Bayern also extended their lead as Dortmund crashed at Wolfsburg.

It was Dortmund's second defeat of the week after losing to 1-0 at home to Arsenal in the Champions League.

After Germany winger Marco Reus put Dortmund ahead with a thunderbolt of a free kick on the stroke of half-time, Wolves hit back to pick up their fourth straight victory to leave them fifth.

Swiss defender Ricardo Rodriguez smashed home a free kick before Croatia striker Ivica Olic hit a great goal in off the far post with 20 minutes left.

'We gave away too many free-kicks, which allowed the opposition some practive in taking them,' lamented Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp, adding centre-back Neven Subotic has a suspected cruciate knee injury.

'Olic's goal was a dream. It should have been blocked, but that didn't happen. Neven Subotic's injury is terrible news.

'We tried everything, but in tight situations, everything went against us.

'We could have had penalties awarded in two different scenarios,' added Klopp, after Poland striker Robert Lewandowski was fouled in the area late on.

World champs Davis, White win Japan figure skating GP

World champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White scored a career-best in the free skate event to win the ice dance title at the NHK Trophy in Tokyo Sunday, the season's fourth Grand Prix.

Dancing to the music of 'Scheherazade' by N. Rimski-Korsakov, the US couple hit a maximum level-four in a combination spin, a synchronised twizzler and two rotational lifts to earn 112.95 points, breaking their own personal record of 112.68 they scored at the Four Continents championships last February.

The short-programme leaders finished with a combined total of 186.65 points, beating Italy's world bronze medallists Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte into second spot at 160.06.

American siblings Maia and Alex Shibutani placed third overall at 157.58.

It was the 15th Grand Prix title for Davis and White who have been competing together for 16 years, finishing runners-up to Canada's Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

They also won the season-opening Skate America title and, with their two Grand Prix wins this season, qualified for the December 5-8 Grand Prix Final in Fukuoka, Japan, which brings together the top six finishers in each category.

The world's top skaters are assigned to compete in two of the season's six Grand Prix events.

'It's not boring at all,' laughed White, 26, about the new trophy added to their cupboard. The duo has also lifted the 2011 and 2013 world titles and three Four-Continents gold medals.

'With our free dance, we are really able to make the most out of it because of how far we've come over our whole career,' he said.

'I think our ability to connect with the music and our ability to connect with each other and with the audience are so important,' he added.