Chainstore Association of Pakistan (CAP) has rejected the decision of the government to close the markets early to save energy. They have demanded the authorities allow them to remain open till 10 p.m., warning that early closure of the markets will decrease government revenue. Chairman of CAP Tariq Mehboob Rana said that this decision will decrease business revenues by 30%, of which ‘Tier-1 retailers’ are connected with the FBR-POS system

He said that this decision is founded on a false calculation of annual savings of PKR62 billion, adding that the loss in revenues for retailers will cause a proportionate drop in tax revenues. He said that the government should take businesses onboard when making such decisions and needs to launch a concerted campaign to encourage the public to conserve energy.

He asked the government to have a proper cost-benefit analysis before pitching this ill-advised policy that favors none. “The already staggering economy cannot afford such unwise and unilateral decisions based on assumptions without taking the real stakeholders on board,” he said. He asked, “why is the retail sector discriminately singled out regarding energy conservation? How can the annual saving of PKR62 billion be calculated if wholesale markets and smaller shops in secondary cities close soon after nightfall?”

Rana said that a daylight-savings policy should be devised so that businessmen make ample use of daylight to their benefit instead of relying on electricity from the national grid. He said that retail shops do most of their business between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., adding that forcing them to shut down early will hit the whole industry very hard.

Has told the government to learn from the examples of big metropolitan cities like Dubai, London, and New York. He said that the sector is recovering from the covid-19 shock and now the government has come up with its own plan to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. He continued, “the organized retail sector of the country consumes less energy per-person than other sectors. Instead it conserves energy through the use of efficient technologies.”

He said that ‘imbalanced’ decisions by the government will harm the industry ever more. He urged the government to consult relevant stakeholders before taking such important decisions. He continued, “according to the latest ‘NEPRA State of Industry Report’ due to excess power generation capacity and the ‘Take or Pay’/‘Must Run’ contracts, the government incurs additional capacity payments when consumption falls.” He said, “instead of only squeezing the private sector, the government must drastically reform the DISCOs, which incurred PKR343 billion in T&D losses last year, and prevent wastage in non-productive areas such as housing societies and street lighting.”

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk