Pepco data shows no increase in power generation in a year

LAHORE: Contrary to official claims, the sectoral data shows that power situation worsened over the past one year as the power generation is now stuck at exactly where it was a year ago (around 14,500MW), but the demand increased by around 800MW, widening the gap between demand and supply which has caused an increaseinloadshedding.

According to the system, demand-supply data prepared by Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco), the country on an average generated 14,424MW in July last year against the demand of 18,884MW, showing a gap of 4,460MW.The peak demand-supply situation was slightly different. During 6pm to 11pm the total demand touched 20,012MW on July 30 and generation went up 16,170MW on that particular day. Otherwise, the generation remained well below 15,500MW throughout the month. The highest shortfall for the month was recorded on July 6 when it rose to 6,553MW generation plummeted to 12,618MW against demand of 19,171MW.

During this year`s July so far, the maximum demand has touched 20,815MW and peak generation around 14,539MW, a deficit of around 6,276MW.

According to a former managing directorofPepco,one shouldnotforgetthatthe government had just cleared the entire cir-cular debt a year before July and there were no system constraints. Every machine was running to its capacity. Now the circular debt has reared its head. Fuel supplies have been squeezed; the sector is getting around 22,000 tons furnace oil against total the demand of around 36,000 tons.

So, the situation was bound to worsen, he added.

The government prematurely inaugurated the Nandipur plant and launched a media campaign that 425MW plant has been added to the system. Within days, the plant went offline because its basics were not put in place. It was originally designed for furnace oil, but was being run on diesel. Managers at the plant have refused to run it permanently on diesel.Similarly, the 747MW Guddu power went offline because its contractor has refused to risk premature running of the plant. Same was the situation at 410MW Uch-I which still does not have transmission line to distribute power although the government`s media campaign led everyone to believe that it was in the system.

Both plants at Uch with total capacity of 835MW are available, but cannot transmit power; either one of them is switched off or Guddu is taken offline to supply power from that area. Had all these plants, with a combined capacity of over 1,500MW, been actually added to the system, the situation might have been better than the last year, the member of Wapda said.

Lessons in history for a better future

Pakistani entrepreneurs should take a leaf out of Gates, Jobs and Branson’s books. CREATIVE COMMONS

KARACHI: 

As Pakistan heads towards an uncertain future, its economy urgently needs the benefits of entrepreneurship to take root and help add a few points to Pakistan’s extremely poor GDP growth.

But how can we double the GDP growth rate? Where will this growth come from?

Future of the country’s growth will not depend on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) or the entry/expansion of large multinational companies. In fact, it will depend on the disproportional growth in Small and Medium Enterprises (SME).

This will come from scores of Mom and Pop stores (like 7-Eleven), from the youth starting their own fast food chains (OP2P), from smart young software engineers starting their own software houses that would develop applications for smartphones and several other similar ventures. Remember 95% of jobs created in the US are by small business owners.

Three great entrepreneurs of our time — Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Richard Branson have left some great insights for future entrepreneurs globally.

Improvise, not just Innovate

IBM approached Gates, founder of Microsoft, in 1980 to make an operating system for their upcoming personal computer. Gates lacked the innovative ability to write it from scratch, so he looked around and bought the rights to QDOS for $75,000 and modified it in-house into what he later called MS-DOS. This is what he licenced to IBM as PC-DOS and proceeded to make a huge fortune, making Microsoft a part of history.

The key lesson here is that coming up with an original innovation is not the only way to proceed. From the huge amount of knowledge existing today and building on existing ideas or inventions and improving them, one can create real sustainable value. Today, after 34 years, no one remembers that Bill Gates did not write MS-DOS, but what everyone does remember is how he grabbed an opportunity and created value for his company.

Use failures as opportunities

Jobs, founder of Apple, is one of the greatest innovators and entrepreneurs of our time. Last year, Apple’s market capitalisation was more than double of Pakistan’s nominal GDP in $ terms.  Job’s success has two salient features.

There is a need to continue making that effort despite failures. If you don’t try, you will not fail but if you don’t try, you will not succeed either. Second point is to learn from your failures. Failures are part of life. Every successful businessman has failed in the past but succeeded only when they learnt from their mistakes and persevered and continued their efforts.

When the Apple board fired Jobs in 1985, 30 years after he had created this billion-dollar company, how do you think he reacted? He positioned getting fired as the best thing that happened to him. He suddenly felt less burdened and entered the most creative period of his life.

Interestingly, when he died 70% of his personal wealth $8 billion came from a venture he started after leaving Apple — Pixar, an animation movie studio, where he created blockbusters including Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Monsters, Cars, Ratatouille and many more.

Attention to detail

A quote attributed to Branson, well known as a true global entrepreneur who has started over 400 companies. One key insight he emphasises is to focus on details — not letting any feedback or comment fall through the crack. He always carried a notebook to jot down a comment by a fellow worker, a customer or business partner. As someone very aptly said that the secret of success is 80% planning and 20% implementation.

Gates began his career by improving upon existing ideas. Jobs took an adversity and turned it into an opportunity. Branson emphasised focus on details and not let anything fall through the crack.

All of these icons in their own rights are role-models for young entrepreneurs. There is a need to learn from these gurus.

THE WRITER is associated with the CORPORATE SECTOR AND IS ACTIVE ON VARIOUS BUSINESS FORUMS AND TRADE BODIES

Atletico Madrid sign Mario Mandzukic

The reigning Liga champions have officially announced their capture of the Croatia international from Bayern Munich, with the 28-year-old excited to work with Diego Simeone

Atletico Madrid have confirmed the signing of Mario Mandzukic from Bayern Munich for a fee believed to be in the region of €22 million.

The Spanish champions have long been linked with a move for the Croatia international, who grew disenchanted under Pep Guardiola and was deemed surplus to requirements following the free transfer of Robert Lewandowski, as they sought a replacement for Chelsea-bound Diego Costa.

Bayern already announced earlier this week that they had agreed verbal terms with Atletico and Mandzukic has now signed a four-year deal with his new club after passing his medical.

"I am very happy to be here. I am well aware of Atletico and I know they have good players and a good coach," Mandzukic commented on his move.

"I know a lot about Atletico, I have seen several games and I like the style of play.

"The coach is very good, they have good players, and I think I can do great things with this team."

Atletico director Jose Luis Caminero believes Mandzukic is just what the Liga champions need in their hunt for more silverware.

"The signing of Mandzukic is great news because he has all the characteristics we were looking for," Caminero said.

"He is a strong striker with a powerful shot, who is a real aerial threat, too. He is a true winner and a player who is used to winning titles. He will add a lot to Atletico."

The 28-year-old won two Bundesliga titles, the Champions League and two DFB-Pokals with Bayern since joining the Bavarians from Wolfsburg in 2012.

He scored 25 goals in all competitions last season.

Can Suarez, Messi & Neymar fit together at Barcelona?

ANALYSIS: The Blaugrana are poised to assemble the most talented all-South American front three since Brazil lined up with Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho - but will it work?

By Mark Doyle

Luis Enrique joked when he took charge of Barcelona that the psychologist he intended to make a part of his backroom staff was just for him. With Liverpool’s Luis Suarez now on his way to Camp Nou, that may no longer be the case. Still, the new Blaugrana boss will need all the emotional support he can get this season, because trying to keep the Uruguayan, Lionel Messi and Neymar happy could drive a lesser man insane.

On paper, of course, Luis Enrique will soon be in possession of arguably the greatest all-South American front three the game has seen since Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho inspired Brazil to World Cup glory in 2002. However, as we are so often told, games are not won on paper; Argentina’s goalscoring problems at this summer’s tournament prove as much. 

The Albiceleste have reached the final but they have managed just eight goals in six games – despite being in a position to field a frontline containing Messi, Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Aguero/Ezequiel Lavezzi. Messi has accounted for half of his country’s World Cup tally in Brazil but even he has not netted since the group stage.

Where best to position the four-time Ballon d’Or winner has been a topic of much debate for the Argentines, as has the most suitable system. Messi made his preference for a 4-3-3 perfectly clear after the group-stage win over Bosnia and Herzegovina and, from a tactical perspective, things should run quite smoothly in Catalunya.

Player Stats — Lionel Messi

• General
• Attack
• Defence
• Distribution
• Discipline

• General

  Games Played

  31

  Minutes Played

  2,504

  Starts

  29

  Interceptions

  2

  Substitution On

  2

  Substitution Off

  5

  Duels Won

  51%

  51%

  Aerial duels won

  21.7%

  21.7%

Luis Enrique is a Barcelona man through and through. Ergo, he is a firm advocate of the 4-3-3 formation with which the club has become synonymous. A three-man front line is, therefore, precisely what Luis Enrique always intended to field – with or without Suarez.

Furthermore, all three superstar forwards seem ideally suited to the system. Neymar, like Ronaldinho, is most comfortable on the left-hand side of the attack, as it allows him to cut infield onto his right foot to devastating effect. Messi is no out-and-out centre forward but the 'false nine' position was effectively created for him by Pep Guardiola, a tactic which allows the Argentine to simultaneously roam free and be the focal point of the attack. 

Suarez, meanwhile, is a versatile footballer, capable of leading the line, as he has done so effectively at Liverpool over the past two seasons, but also creating goals for others, often by drifting wide to exploit the space in the channels. It is that latter quality that should enable him to flourish at Camp Nou.

Player Stats — Luis Suárez

• General
• Attack
• Defence
• Distribution
• Discipline

• General

  Games Played

  33

  Minutes Played

  2,964

  Starts

  33

  Interceptions

  11

  Substitution On

  0

  Substitution Off

  3

  Duels Won

  40.5%

  40.5%

  Aerial duels won

  30.3%

  30.3%

Suarez is also willing to work for the team, as evidenced by the way in which he readily agreed to occasionally play out wide to accommodate Daniel Sturridge through the middle at Liverpool last season. However, Brendan Rodgers' side was always based around getting the best out of Suarez. He was the star man. He will not be afforded that status at Camp Nou.

While the early indications are that Luis Enrique wants his front three to regularly change positions in a bid to keep opposition defences in a constant state of confusion, Suarez will need to accept that he is no longer the focus of the attack. That can be a difficult thing for some players to accept. 

Zlatan Ibrahimovic never came to terms with being asked to "play for Messi" during his time in Catalunya. Now, the Swede, it could be argued, was always going to struggle with a request to play for anyone but himself but the striker’s solitary season is worth referencing. He, too, was a stellar summer signing expected to add a new dimension to Barcelona’s attacking play. Just like Suarez. And just like Neymar.

The Brazilian should not be forgotten in all of this. The Selecao star was signed from Santos 12 months ago and though his season was interrupted by injury, Barca never quite worked out how to use Neymar and Messi in tandem effectively. 

Neymar has consistently said all of the right things about just wanting to “help” Messi but it is no coincidence that not only does he look far more effective playing for Brazil, for whom he is the undisputed main man, his best spell last season came while his Argentine accomplice was out injured.

Player Stats — Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior

• General
• Attack
• Defence
• Distribution
• Discipline

• General

  Games Played

  26

  Minutes Played

  1,739

  Starts

  19

  Interceptions

  7

  Substitution On

  7

  Substitution Off

  11

  Duels Won

  49.1%

  49.1%

  Aerial duels won

  31%

  31%

Johan Cruyff predicted problems the moment Neymar signed for Barcelona, arguing that “you cannot have two captains on one boat.” The addition of Suarez only seems to complicate matters further, particularly when you consider that the Uruguay international will not even be available for selection until the end of October. How exactly is Luis Enrique expected to get this front three working in perfect harmony when the most recent recruit cannot even train with his team-mates?

Furthermore, what if by then Luis Enrique has worked out a way in which to get the very best out of Neymar? Will he risk tinkering with his front three? And what of Messi? Luis Enrique has praised the No.10's generosity in the past, while even Ibrahimovic conceded that the four-time Ballon d'Or winner was "a shy and polite guy" - but when it comes to tactics, Messi usually gets what he wants - as Zlatan discovered to his cost.

Luis Enrique, though, is made of stern stuff. The 'Iron Man' enthusiast is not a man afraid of upsetting high-profile players. During his time at Roma, he dropped Daniele De Rossi for allegedly turning up late for a team meeting before a trip to Atalanta. He also reportedly fell out with Francesco Totti over a Europa League tie against Slovan Bratislava. “He's the most important player in Roma's history but it's up to me to decide who plays,” the Asturian stated at the time.

Luis Enrique sees the bigger picture, as underlined by his preference for erecting scaffolding at the club training ground so he can enjoy a higher vantage point during practice matches. He realises that it is the team that comes first. His job will be to persuade Messi, Neymar and Suarez that they are playing for the club – not themselves. He will need every bit of his man-management skills to appease a front three accustomed to having things all their own way; to exhibiting an element of control over a front three used to enjoying complete freedom on the field of play.

Over the past two seasons Barcelona have undeniably become predictable. Luis Suarez is anything but. However, whether he is the solution to this particular Catalan conundrum remains to be seen. At this stage, it is utterly impossible to know. His imminent arrival poses more questions than answers 

Alexis to undergo Arsenal medical ahead of €40m move

The Chilean forward has agreed to join the Gunners and will be confirmed as the club's second most expensive signing after completing the formalities of his switch from Barcelona

By Wayne Veysey | UK Correspondent

Alexis Sanchez will undergo a medical at Arsenal on Thursday as he puts the finishing touches to a €40 million move from Barcelona, Goal understands.

The Gunners have finalised a deal with the Spanish giants that is the second-biggest transfer outlay in the club’s history.

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Goal understands that Alexis will arrive at Arsenal’s London Colney headquarters at 17:00CET on Thursday to undertake a medical and complete the formalities of his switch from Camp Nou.

The signing is expected to be announced within the next 24 hours as Arsenal also prepare to unveil the capture of Mathieu Debuchy from Newcastle United in a deal that will cost £8m (€10m) plus appearance-related add-ons.The France international had a medical at Arsenal on Monday and the club took the official pictures that will be used to trumpet his arrival.

It is the signing of Alexis, however, that will excite Arsenal fans, with the 25-year-old at the peak of his career and regarded as one of the most exciting forwards in the world. The Chilean had an outstanding World Cup and only Lionel Messi scored more than Alexis' 21 goals for Barcelona last season.

His capture is a real statement of intent from manager Arsene Wenger, who will team him up at Emirates Stadium with €50m club-record signing Mesut Ozil.

Arsenal chiefs, led by manager Arsene Wenger in Brazil, have been working hard over the last week on convincing the 25-year-old to choose a move to Emirates Stadium ahead of Juventus and Manchester United, having agreed the transfer fee and financial terms in principle last week. Liverpool were linked strongly with Alexis but were never regarded by Arsenal as serious rivals for his signature.

Wenger and his scouts believe the former Udinese man has the attributes to be developed into a centre-forward at Emirates Stadium - a role in which he performed with aplomb at the World Cup.