LAHORE: The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) on Wednesday urged the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), power distribution companies (DISCOs) and Federal Minister for Energy Omer Ayub Khan to defer the gas and electricity bills for the textile industry during the complete lockdown period due to Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak in the country.
In its three separate letters, written by APTMA Punjab Chairman Adil Bashir addressed to Federal Minister for Energy Omer Ayub Khan, Managing Director SNGPL Aamir Tufail and Chief Executive Officer LESCO Mujahid Pervaiz Chattha, he requested the departments concerned to address the issue on war footings.
Bashir, in his letter to MD SNGPL, stated that he is writing this with reference to Secretary General, APTMA Punjab Raza Baqir’s telephonic conversation with Chief Financial Officer (CFO) on March 24 regarding extension in payment of gas bills.
He told the MD SNGPL that as he knows with the lockdown in the province of Punjab, all businesses and economic activities have come to a standstill. It has resulted in closure of all offices, cessation of production and manufacturing operations, suspension of transportation of goods and stoppage of supplies both for domestic and foreign markets.
“It has caused grave financial constraints and cash and liquidity crunch coupled with heavy financial losses to the textile industry in general and our members in particular,” Bashir stated. The Punjab chairman added that in the above scenario it may not be possible to pay the ad hoc or regular bills till the restoration of normalcy and lifting of lockdown.
Bashir said that realising the gravity of the issue, power distribution companies have graciously extended the last date for payment of electricity bills. “It is requested that SNGPL may also not only suspend payment of ad-hoc bills due for payment on March 24 but also for the entire period of lockdown as there would be neither consumption of gas nor production of goods due to closure of mills,” he noted. Bashir further requested that the payment of regular bills may also be extended as in the existing complete lockdown in the country, mill owners are not in a position to pay gas bills at least till the lifting of lockdown in Punjab.
In his letter to CEO LESCO, Bashir requested that due to the current severity of the issue, it is requested that the date of payment of electricity bills may be extended till the lifting of lockdown as during the complete lockdown it is not possible for our members to pay the electricity bills.
The APTMA, in its letter to Omer Ayub Khan, Federal Minister for Energy, stated that in reference to extreme circumstances and complete lockdown in the country due to Covid-19. “The energy bills given the suspension of cash flows cannot be paid; it is therefore requested that energy bills may please be deferred without penalty for the duration of the crisis,” the APTMA said.
