Syed Akhtar Ali

June 12, 2017

Hydro royalty – consensus reached

ISLAMABAD: Hydro royalty or net hydel profit (NHP) as it is called in constitutional (1973) terms has been a major dividing and polarising issue. Some provincial leaders […]
May 29, 2017

Understanding the misconception of Pakistan’s petrol prices

ISLAMABAD: It is a general impression and complaint in Pakistan these days that petrol prices have not been brought down in Pakistan sufficiently in the wake of […]
May 22, 2017

Despite tax-free system, renewable energy tariffs are high in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Solar PV auction prices in India have reached a new low of INR2.42 (3.7 US cents) per kilowatt-hour (kWh). In the last auction, winning bidders for […]
May 8, 2017

The role of competition and incentives

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will be installing four to five Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) terminals in the coming two years, adding about 3 billion cubic feet (cft) per […]
May 1, 2017

Where will oil and energy prices go?

ISLAMABAD: If you are a consumer or an importer, you would like that oil and energy prices are as low as these days and remain at these […]
April 24, 2017

Load-shedding goes up as IPPs remain under-utilised

ISLAMABAD: Intense heat and heavy load-shedding has compelled me to write something about it as to why load-shedding occurs and how it could have been reduced if […]
April 3, 2017

K-Electric, consumer groups both unhappy with new tariff

ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has recently announced a new tariff for K-Electric, which will be valid for the next seven years. Following are […]
March 27, 2017

Confusion remains in coal power tariff

ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has come a long way improving its performance and capacity. However, it is an issue of glass being half […]
March 20, 2017

Competition, not regulation, brings down energy prices

ISLAMABAD: Utilities have been considered as natural monopolies as these used to be integrated companies combining generation, supply, transmission and distribution. These days integrated utilities are rare […]