Pakistan's recent electricity blackout linked to Forex woes

A prolonged shortage of dollars is wreaking havoc throughout the economy and a nationwide power outage this week underscored the razor-thin margins for error
Pakistan's recent electricity blackout linked to Forex woes

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's recent countrywide electricity blackout is a symptom of its enduring economic crisis as its forex reserves are dwindling and are not in a position to buy oil for the energy sector, writes Adnan Aamir in Nikkei Asia.

A prolonged shortage of dollars is wreaking havoc throughout the economy and a nationwide power outage this week underscored the razor-thin margins for error in Pakistan's energy sector, he writes. The government said the blackout, which lasted around 16 hours, was caused by a technical glitch in the transmission system, however, a federal official who spoke on condition of anonymity drew an indirect connection to dwindling fuel supplies, reported Nikkei Asia.

"The government turns off the power plants at night to save fuel," said the official, who was not authorized to speak to the media, adding, "When they tried to resume them on Monday morning, the system tripped, and it created a crisis-like situation."

As per distributors and some officials, a shortage of dollars will lead Pakistan toward an oil crisis, writes Aamir. The Oil Companies Advisory Council - a body representing refineries, marketing and pipeline companies - on January 13 sent a letter to the Ministry of Finance, a copy of which was seen by Nikkei Asia. The group highlighted the problems industry players are having opening letters of credit to import petroleum products. (ANI)

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