PTEA warns that ending gas supply to captive power plants would harm exports.
Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) has strongly opposed the government’s decision to stop gas supply to captive power plants (CPPs) from February 1, 2025.
PTEA Patron-in-Chief Khurram Mukhtar termed this decision a serious threat to the textile industry and a major obstacle to Pakistan reaching its full export potential.
The textile sector has invested billions of rupees in gas-based power generation systems to ensure a stable and reliable energy supply for factories. Across Pakistan, 480 CPPs are connected to the SNGPL network, and 800 to the SSGC network. These plants use combined heat and power (CHP) systems to maintain voltage stability and prevent damage to advanced machinery.
Mr Mukhtar said that if the power supply from the national grid is variable, then production will remain dwindling and huge financial losses will have to be borne in the textile sector.
CPPs are much more efficient than power plants operated by the government. The thinking that grid electricity, loaded with high T&D losses, will be cheaper than that from CHP systems reflects improper planning. In addition, technical constraints in the grid make it impossible to fulfill the energy requirements of most industrial units, some of which require more than 10 MW of power per hour.
