Saudi Arabia extends voluntary cut

Saudi Arabia on Wednesday extended its one million barrel per day (bpd) voluntary crude oil production cut until the end of the year 2023.

An official source at the Ministry of Energy announced that the Kingdom would continue with its voluntary oil output cut of one million bpd for the month of November and until the end of the year and that it would review the decision again next month.

The Kingdom’s production for November and December will be approximately 9 million bpd, the ministry said in a statement, carried by the Saudi Press Agency. “This voluntary cut decision will be reviewed next month to consider deepening the cut or increasing production,” the statement said.

Saudi Arabia first implemented the additional voluntary cut in July and has since extended it on a monthly basis. The cut adds to 1.66 million barrels per day of other voluntary crude output declines that some members of OPEC have put in place until the end of 2024.

The source also explained that this reduction is in addition to the voluntary reduction that the Kingdom had previously announced in April 2023 and which extends until the end of December 2024.

Russia also pledged to voluntarily reduce exports by 500,000 barrels per day in August and by 300,000 barrels per day in September. The cuts are described as voluntary because they are outside of OPEC Plus official policy, which commits every nonexempt member to a share of production quotas.

The ministry source confirmed that this additional voluntary reduction comes to strengthen the precautionary efforts made by OPEC Plus countries with the aim of supporting the stability and balance of oil markets.

 

 

Iran to block normalization with Israel

Iranian foreign minister has said that his country aims at further strengthening relations with Saudi Arabia with the purpose to block normalization with the Zionist regime of Israel.

Hossein Amir Abdollahian made the remarks in a meeting with a group of foreign guests attending a Muslim unity conference in Tehran. 

Amir Abdollahian and a number of foreign ministry officials met with the guests of the 37th International Islamic Unity Conference. The annual conference was held in Tehran with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in attendance. 

In the meeting, Amir Abdollahian appreciated the efforts of the secretary general of the Association of Ecumenism in holding the unity conference, and considered this conference as a banner of unity and ecumenism in the Islamic world, according to a statement by the Iranian foreign ministry.

The foreign minister said, “According to scientific indicators, the international world order and system is changing, and in the change and evolution of the world order, United States, as a superpower that has been striving for unilateralism for decades, still has the characteristics of a hegemon, but it is not able to apply it.” 

Amir Abdollahian considered the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani by United States, and Iran’s decisive response to this act in targeting the Ain al-Assad base and the inability of the US to show the slightest reaction to it as an example that the US is not able to exercise hegemony and this is as an example of the changing world order.

“Today, the world is in a sharp historical turn that has multiplied the mission of scholars and thinkers all over the world,” he added. 

“We have entered a new stage of developments in the region and the world, and today the understanding is being strengthened that if we do not think about our security, others will not help,” the foreign minister pointed out.

He continued, “Today, we are witnessing the resumption of Iran-Saudi relations, our intention is to have deep and extensive relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia with an eye on the interests of the Islamic world and with the aim of disappointing the enemy and blocking the way to normalize relations.”

He also pointed to the improvement of relations between Iran and Egypt. “We have met with the Egyptian foreign minister and made good agreements that we hope to witness a good development for the benefit of the two nations.” 

Amir Abdollahian held talks with his Egyptian counterpart on the sidelines of the annual UN conference in New York last month.

Referring to the speech delivered by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi at the session of the UN General Assembly in New York, Amir Abdollahian said, “Dr. Raisi, the president of our country, had two important initiatives while attending the United Nations; in addition to raising the Quran in this meeting, he raised the important issue of the family, because the global movement of solidarity with the family should be launched in the world. We are pursuing this issue in cultural institutions so that it becomes a global movement.”

 

Iranian oil output hits 3.15 million bpd

Reportedly, Iran has managed to push its oil output to 3.15 million barrels per day (bpd), the highest since 2018, the year Washington re-imposed sanctions on the country.

Analysts say the higher Iranian exports appear to be the result of Iran's success in evading U.S. sanctions and Washington's discretion in enforcing them.

As reported, OPEC oil output rose for a second straight month in September, led by increases in Nigeria and Iran despite ongoing cuts by Saudi Arabia and other members of the wider OPEC Plus alliance to support the market.

Last month, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) pumped 27.73 million bpd, up 120,000 bpd from August. Production in August had risen for the first time since February.

The rise in September was led by Nigeria, which has been battling with crude theft and insecurity in its oil producing region.

Iran pumped more, with output hitting the highest level since 2018.

Iraq and the United Arab Emirates increased output slightly, while Angolan supply showed the largest decline in the group of 50,000 bpd due to a drop in exports.

OPEC's output is still undershooting the targeted amount by about 700,000 bpd, mainly because Nigeria and Angola lack the capacity to pump as much as their agreed level.

 

UN Security Council condemns Israeli violations

At a UN Security Council session on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, many representatives of the 15 member states criticized Israeli violations against Palestinians, with notably strong criticism from Russia and China. 

Kicking off the session, Tor Wennesland, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, spoke via a video conference and updated the meeting with his latest report for the period June 15 to September 19, 2023. 

The senior UN official reiterated to the Security Council the Secretary-General’s appeal for an end to the occupation and a resolution of the conflict as members echoed those calls and underlined a need to return to peace negotiations.

Wennesland pointed to the ongoing expansion of Israeli settlements, demolition of Palestinian homes, daily Israeli violence and continued inflammatory rhetoric by the Israeli cabinet.

He reported the latest settlement activity by Israel is advancing plans for 6,300 settler units in the occupied West Bank, and approximately 3,580 settler units in occupied eastern al-Quds (East Jerusalem), pointing to the Israeli administrative actions that likely expedited settlement expansion.  

Israeli authorities, citing a lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are almost impossible for Palestinians to obtain, demolished, seized or forced people to demolish 238 structures, including 32 donor-funded ones, displacing 183 people, including 46 women and 91 children. 

Alarmingly, 59 schools, serving around 6,500 Palestinian students, are at risk of demolition to make way for Israeli settlers. 

“In a continuing trend, many Palestinians, including children, left from their communities citing violence by settlers and shrinking grazing land,” he also warned.

Wennesland noted that during this period, Israeli forces killed at least 68 Palestinians, including 18 children. 
Ten Israelis were also left dead by Palestinians in attacks and other incidents, the UN special coordinator added.  

Experts argue that Palestinians have a legitimate right enshrined under international law to wage retaliatory operations and resistance in the face of the brutal military occupation and ethnic cleansing campaign. 

Israeli forces’ 1,042 search-and-arrest operations in the West Bank have resulted in the arrest of 1,504 Palestinians, including 88 children, he added, highlighting that the regime currently holds 1,264 Palestinians in administrative detention - the highest number in over a decade. 

Wennesland also provided details on the urgent funding needs of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and the World Food Program (WFP).

In the ensuing discussion, council members stressed that the expanding Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are a violation of international law and must cease.

Some representatives of states mostly allied to Israel also voiced concern about the ongoing violence and lack of any political progress, calling on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and take steps to de-escalate tensions.

Vasily Nebenzya of the Russian Federation recalled Israel's increasing steps to create irreversible facts on the ground and said that the ongoing explosive situation is a direct result of aggressive Israeli abuses in the occupied Palestinian territories. 

The current Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN warned against the legalization of settlement outposts and the violation of the status quo of the holy sites of occupied al-Quds (Jerusalem). 

Referring to Israel’s plan to increase the number of Israelis in the north of the occupied West Bank from 170,000 people to 1 million by 2050, with US$200 million allocated for that, Nebenzya said it goes against the relevant Security Council decisions and is contrary to international law.  
“The increase in violence against Palestinian minors and the demolition of educational institutions, including those built with donor funds, are of particular concern,” Nebenzia said, adding that the United States continues to promote Arab-Israeli normalization, circumventing the logic of the Arab Peace Initiative.  

“Russia is committed to the creation of a Palestinian State within the 1967 borders with occupied al-Quds (East Jerusalem) as its capital,” he stated.

Several diplomats proposed ways to enhance efforts in resolving the conflict, with China’s envoy in particular calling for higher priority to be given to an international peace conference. 
Beijing has been leading the calls for an international peace conference to end the suffering of Palestinians. 

China has been much more diplomatically involved in Palestinian affairs since Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas for a four-day state visit to Beijing in June. 

China's UN representative, Geng Shuang, also voiced support for President Abbas’ call for the Security Council to dispatch a mission to Palestine in due course. 

He urged the cessation of all settlement activities, unilateral actions to change the status quo in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and escalation of settler violence. 

Geng also called on the "occupying power" to remove unreasonable restrictions on the movement of persons, goods and land use, and to lift the blockade on the Gaza Strip as soon as possible.

Brazil’s representative pointed out that the Security Council has become unresponsive to the Palestinians’ plight, stressing that the 15-member body must reflect on its role in paving the way for direct negotiations.  

“Sitting on our hands while the situation unravels is short-sighted and dangerous,” Sergio Franca Danese warned.

The Brazilian ambassador also recalled that his country’s president highlighted the overdue establishment of a Palestinian state as an example of longstanding unresolved disputes lingering on while new threats emerge.

Brazil recognized the State of Palestine in 2010. 

Pointing out that the Council has become unresponsive to the Palestinians’ plights, he stressed that "this must change".

The Brazilian diplomat called on Israel to curb settler violence and condemned any action aimed at altering the status quo of the holy sites. 
Furthermore, Danese highlighted the importance of fostering the Palestinian economy, addressing governance challenges and respecting human rights, announcing that Brazil will enhance its contributions to projects in those areas.

Gabon’s representative also called for the lifting of the Gaza blockade in line with Security Council resolution 1860 (2009), noting that Palestinian territories face budgetary constraints because of restrictions on freedom of movement and trade.

Vanessa Frazier of Malta condemned “episodes of settler violence which have terrorized Palestinian communities”. 

Japan’s representative was among the speakers who voiced support for UNRWA, underlining Tokyo's contribution of over US$40 million to the program. He urged Member States to make sure that UNRWA maintains its core services for Palestinian refugees.

Ambassador Ishikane Kimishiro also noted that lack of political progress is jeopardizing peace and security in the region. He also echoed other members' demands for Israel to immediately cease settlement activities. 

Ghana's Felix Akom Nyarku, referring to the increasing acts of settler violence, stressed that the destruction of infrastructure and properties in both the occupied Palestinian territories and in occupied al-Quds dangerously imperils the viability of peace.

He called on the international community to provide short-term investments to help the Palestinian Authority improve people’s access to education, health care, and employment as well as repair basic infrastructure and strengthen fiscal stability.
Andres Efren Montalvo Sosa of Ecuador highlighted that 2023 marks the most violent year in the region since 2005 (for Palestinians) and voiced concern about the increasing number of victims, expanding settlements, and daily violence.  

Western states, including the United States, the United Kingdom and France also made similar calls on Israel to cease its settlement activity, but critics say these statements cannot be taken at face value.

Much of the machinery, including bulldozers, with which the settlements are expanded on Palestinian land, are bought from the West, in a similar manner to how annual US military aid to Israel contributes to the killing of Palestinian women and children.

This comes as the Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission released new data on Thursday showing that Israel has arrested more than 135,000 Palestinians since the outbreak of the al-Aqsa Intifada (Second Intifada) in 2000.

The commission said that these arrests affected all classes of Palestinian society, including children, women, and the elderly.
Nearly 21,000 Palestinian children have been arrested since 2000. 
In addition, half of the Legislative Council members, a number of ministers, hundreds of academics, journalists, and workers in civil society organizations and international institutions have been detained. 
Nobody has been spared by the regime.
The report also highlighted that more than 2,600 Palestinian girls and women were arrested by the regime's forces, including four women who gave birth in prison under harsh and difficult conditions.
 

 

BGMEA demands ethical sourcing by US brands

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has sought fair prices and demanded ethical sourcing of garments from the US retailers and brands as the new wages for the workers are expected to be implemented from December this year.

BGMEA President, Faruque Hassan made the demand in a letter to Stephen Lamar, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), the platform for the American retailers and brands, on September 28, 2023.

“Considering the standard and cost of living of our workers, and the inflation, we also expect fair price and ethical sourcing from our valued buyers,” Hassan said in the letter.

The BGMEA chief urged the AAFA to pursue the US brands and retailers for rational price for the orders for Items to be produced from December 2023 and onward.

“This is important for a smoother transition to a new wage scale. May you kindly share this letter to your members, please,” Hassan said.

He said the BGMEA is working to improve the skill and efficiency level of the workers, and such initiatives should have broader collaboration.

“As we commit ourselves to continuously delivering the better, we are leaving no stone unturned to optimize the value of our spending, with an uncompromising stance on ethical and responsible business. Your continued support will be crucial,” he said.

Recently, the AAFA wrote a letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressing concern about the labour rights situation in Bangladesh following the killing of labour leader Shahidul Islam in June this year.

The suspects of the Shahidul Islam have been arrested, the BGMEA chief mentioned.

Hassan said the Bangladesh labour law was amended in 2013 and 2018.

Further amendment to the labour law is in the final stage after a rigorous tripartite consultation, he said.

As per data from Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) the USA’s import from Bangladesh dropped by 20% in US dollar terms and 29.03% in square meter in January-July 2023.

“We understand the stress of managing supply chain at your end, we, the manufacturers, are also in a complete ‘nightmare situation’ to manage our capacities, supply chain, planning and forecasting. Yet, we have been quite successfully able to retain growth in our export, so far,” the letter said.

The Minimum Wage Board for the garment workers is working to review the current minimum wages. The board has already done several meetings and currently consulting with different stakeholders, said Hassan.

“They are visiting factories and discussing with workers and owners. I believe before the end of this year a new minimum wage will be declared and there will be a rational adjustment, if we look at the trend of previous reviews, as well as the aggregate inflation in past five years.”

 

Climate change and its impact on Arabian Sea

In the summer of 2022, flash flooding due to heavy monsoon rains in Pakistan, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and southeast Iran killed over 1,000 people. In this part of the world, the extreme shifts in weather between monsoon and dry season dictate subsistence cycles and financial livelihood, with accompanying risks to life and property. Shifting global precipitation patterns due to climate change, however, are altering the timing and magnitude of these events.

In the Middle East and North Africa region, the Arabian Sea plays a major part in both South Asian and African monsoons, providing a source of moisture. Temperature and vapor pressure in the northern Arabian Sea have been steadily increasing since the 1980s and regional sea surface temperatures have seen a steady rise since 2003. Combined, these phenomena are a recipe for disaster.

The warmer average air mass above the sea has an increased capacity to hold water and will take longer to saturate as a result. This lengthens the average time between precipitation events, but is also more likely to produce catastrophically high precipitation when it does.

What can be done to adapt to this new reality? Can infrastructure be adapted, optimized, or possibly even re-imagined to take advantage of such events?

Infrastructure for the capture, transport, and treatment of surface water will need to adapt to the new realities of climate change, in MENA perhaps quicker than anywhere else. Correlation between historically extreme events and the “new normal” could serve to guide the retrofitting of pre-existing infrastructure as well as updated requirements for the construction of new infrastructure. This should be based on sound statistics and up-to-date flood frequency analysis.

If it is determined, for example, that floods that previously qualified as a “500-year event” are now a “100-year event,” then catchment areas, spillway designs, and dam heights should be adjusted to reflect this new reality.

Beyond exposed impoundments and flood control structures, innovative solutions for storage, conveyance, and treatment of water harvested from these extreme events should be considered if the intended end use is municipal or industrial.

Since large swaths of the MENA countries within the Arabian Sea zone are sparsely populated, adaptations that emphasize efficiency and flexibility in capture or conveyance across vast, often arid regions would be essential.

These might include groundwater infiltration basins located in regions statistically determined to be visited by cyclones with increased frequency, covered tanks (to reduce evaporative losses), and pipelines from these areas to strategic transfer points in regional infrastructure. Incorporating passive treatment of captured water, solar, or even small-scale hydroelectric generation into these designs can augment water and power security.

Source type is also important. Smaller countries or those with more homogenous landscapes (such as Bahrain or Qatar) only need to focus on adaptations to the particular type of extreme event they most often experience. Infrastructure in Arabian Sea zone countries with diverse geography such as Oman, however, may be adapted to capitalize on episodic heavy rainfall or, more rarely, heavy snowfall events and the differences in timing of arrival of water from each.

Monsoon rains are highly localized, and some of the countries that border the Arabian Sea, like Oman, are uniquely positioned to take advantage not just of “Khareef season” but of its reversal as well.

Between the months of June and September, the Salalah region in southern Oman will experience rain from the prevailing south west relies that set up along the southern coast as warm, moist air from the Arabian Sea sweeps toward the Indian Subcontinent.

Toward the end of the Northern Hemisphere summer, this pattern reverses as East Africa heats up, driving winds from the Gulf of Oman to drop rain and, sometimes, snow on the Hajar Mountains.

By contrast, cyclones may affect large areas, and are an increasingly common occurrence in the Arabian Sea, bringing significant rainfall, storm surge, and high winds. With the aid of advanced sitting tools (a combination of geographical information system, artificial intelligence, or updated global circulation models, for example) key regions of the landscape could be engineered or enhanced to take advantage of such events by acting as large-scale catchment facilities, capturing precious runoff, wave energy, or controlling sediment transport. Maximizing the local use of such resources — for small-scale power, landscape irrigation, or environmental flows — would remove the need for both conveyance and treatment.

If it sounds as though the line between landscape and infrastructure has blurred, perhaps it should. If buildings and roadways are engineered to withstand the impacts of “extreme” climatic events, why not re-imagine the environment to dovetail with adapted power and water supply infrastructure and take advantage of the potential windfall? Hurricane Harvey dumped more than 20x1012 gallons of water on the US Gulf Coast in the summer of 2017. Had the storm stalled over the US Southwest, 17 years of drought would have been undone and surface system reservoirs would have been filled within the space of one week.

The blueprint for transforming events such as these from liability into potential windfall already exists, albeit on a smaller scale. Many city and regional-level utilities outside MENA incentivize simultaneous compliance with safety and environmental standards prior to approving new infrastructure. Scaling up such an approach would require a similar leap up in planning and regulatory perspective. Urban planning would become regional planning, with the coordination between civil, geotechnical, and environmental engineering taken to new levels.

Funding options for such projects would need to evolve alongside the rising threats posed by climate change. Options for build-operate-own scenarios under public-private partnerships could be negotiated through non-governmental, UN, or World Bank-affiliated organizations, such as the Green Climate Fund or the Global Adaptation Fund, if government funding for affected countries in the MENA region were limited. Rates for water could be structured according to the ephemeral nature of the resource.

The degree of difficulty with which the resource is captured and conveyed could be incorporated, with the associated costs wrapped into current operations and management. The money saved by not having to pump and treat an equivalent volume of this “free water” could be used to further stretch the resource by being funneled back into reuse-recycling programs, for example.

The details of such programs are, at this stage, less important than a broader array of strategies for taking advantage of potential opportunities to mitigate the damage caused by climate change.

Rather than planning for climate conditions just based on the status quo of risk management, consider that, if the scale and robustness of infrastructure are being tested at a level never before experienced in modern times due to the amplification of climate change impacts, perhaps it is time for a similar quantum leap of thought on how we approach these challenges by viewing these climate risks as opportunities.

The MENA countries within the climate influence of the Arabian Sea will certainly need to buffer against the adverse impacts of extreme weather but may also look toward finding innovative benefits from experiencing this level of climate vulnerability.

Courtesy: Middle East Institute

Lingering Energy Crisis in Pakistan

Today, while reviewing the site, I came across one of my blogs posted as aback as on March 24, 2018. I am sure the situation has not improved in five years; in fact it has gone from bad to worse. All of my friends are invited to read this and also send their comments.

If one looks at the history of power sector in Pakistan, a few points are clear. These include: 1) a myth that the country has been persistently suffering due to the shortage of energy products, 2) the successive power policies have been have been introduced to serve the interest of local and overseas investors, 3) blatant theft of electricity and gas has been going on with the connivance of employees of utility companies, and 4) regulatory authorities have failed in protecting the interest of consumers and remained subservient to the incumbent governments.

Energy shortage

Pakistan is blessed with an enormous potential of hydel power generation. According to the experts Mighty River Indus alone has the potential to generate more than 40,000MW electricity per annum. Another 10,000MW electricity per annum can be generated from smaller hydel plants (run of the river type facilities which does not require construction of dams/reservoirs. In addition to that 50,000MW electricity can be produced annually from Thar coal. However, at present total hydel generation is around 8,000MW, which goes down when water level drops in dams. Thermal power plants (mostly owned and operated by the private) have the lion’s share in the total generation. The share of coal and nuclear power plants in the total electricity generated has remained minuscule. Though, a lot is being talked about changing the energy mix and curtailing use of gas for power generation, a little success has been achieved.

Serving vested Interest

Major hydel power generation facilities, i.e. Warsak, Mangla, Tarbella and Ghazi Brotha are located in the northern parts of the country and cater to the needs to KPK and upper Punjab. Karachi is hub of trading and industrial activities, but totally dependent on thermal power generation. The city has 10% of the total population of the country but gets nothing from low cost electricity generated from hydel power plants. To be precise, K-Electric supplies electricity to some parts of Sindh and Baluchistan. If transmission of hydel electricity to Karachi is difficult or uneconomical, quota allocation of gas to K-electric should be doubled. Karachi is surviving on self generated electricity; the city has a latent demand of 5,000MW, whereas K-Electric is capable of meeting only half of this demand. One can still recall that in the early nineties E-Electric used to export electricity to Punjab. HUBCO was constructed to primarily meet Karachi’s demand, but it was ‘hijacked’ by WAPDA for meeting Punjab’s demand.

Blatant Theft

Blatant theft of electricity and gas has been going on for ages with the connivance of the employees of the utilities. On top of all some of the parts of Pakistan are provided free of cost electricity. One may recall that at one time the average T&D losses of electric utilities were as high as 40%. Lately, gas UFG, which mostly comprise of theft hover a little less than 10%. On top of this, utility companies carry the load of billions of rupees of receivables; the probability of recovery is very low. According to some analysts, if K-Elecric pays off its outstanding dues, SSGC will be able to pay off almost all the payable amount to E&P companies. Containing theft or recovering outstanding dues does not require any rocket science, but a firm commitment. However, utilities fail completely helpless because of the pressure of political and linguistic groups. It is also necessary to put on record that utilities don’t provide connections, taking refuge behind non-availability of electricity/gas, but are prompt in providing ‘temporary connections, which are often without meters. Analysts term this ‘offical kunda’.

Regulatory Authorities

The Government of Pakistan (GoP) initiated the process of liberalization, deregulation and privatization. Under this policy, the private sector was encouraged to establish industries, which remained the exclusive domain of the state for decades and it was also offered the stake in state owned enterprises along with management control. Prior to that the World Bank has refused to lend more money to WAPDA and the shift in policy gave birth to HUBCO and other IPPs. 

IMF Recipe

Many analysts have the consensus that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is the lender of last resort, but its recipes are not aimed at enabling any country to ‘stand on its own feet.’ Often the country is trapped in a vicious cycle of borrowing. However, the advantage is that if the country succeeds in developing its own home grown plan and meeting the condition imposed by the IMF, it may overcome the balance of payment crisis. 

Pakistan has a long history of remaining under the IMF support program. In one of the latest country report, the Fund has once again highlighted the need to introduce structural reforms for the power sector. These weaknesses identified are: 1) the persistence of circular debt, 2) DISCOs still operating under the state control, 3) high T&D losses, 4) failure to follow corporate governance and 5) lack of the mechanism for passing on input cost adjustments to end consumers.

Emphasizing US$55 billion in planned investments as a part of CPEC, the Fund anticipates improved economic activity made up of 19 Chinese sponsored power sector investments (US$17.7 billion) and non-CPEC energy projects (US$25.4 billion). Mode of financing for energy projects has been bifurcated into: 1) direct borrowing and investment from Chinese financial institutions, and 2) financing of projects by private domestic sponsors as well as government backed borrowing from multilateral lenders.

A detailed analysis of the power sector shows: 1) the country has enormous resources to produce low cost electricity, 2) if pilferage is contained cash flow of DISCOs will improve and 3) circular debt issue will be resolved. Appropriately managed conventional sources of power generation can help in meeting the electricity demand and there may not be an urgent need to invest in alternative sources of power generation.