Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Tuesday said the government is taking short, medium and long term steps, to bridge the gap between demand and supply of electricity for maintaining the momentum of growth.
Chairing a meeting to review the power situation and progress of Independent Power Projects (IPPs) here, he said the electricity demand is growing by over 10 percent annually as a result of the high growth achieved during the last few years.
The Prime Minister said that in addition to high economic growth, rural electrification, increased industrial activity and improvement in living standards have created a surge in the demand for electricity. The government, he said, is making all out efforts to increase electricity generation to ease the problems faced by domestic and commercial consumers.
Shaukat Aziz reviewed progress of upcoming IPPs in the private and public sector, which are at various stages of constructions or finalisation and asked PPIB to expedite the processing of the projects. He emphasised the need for better co-ordination among relevant government departments for the implementation of these projects on fast-track basis.
The Prime Minister said the projects must meet the target date of commissioning and it should be ensured there are no bottlenecks or delays. He reviewed progress of the earlier instructions given to Wapda to lease 100 MW power plants on fast-track basis and to explore further leasing options.
The Prime Minister was also updated on progress in Wapda''s project to replace its old power plants installed at Guddu with latest power plants, which would increase power generation up to 300 MW in future.
He said Nepra''s decision to allow captive power plants (having surplus power) up to 50 MW generation capacities to sell power to buyers at mutually agreed rates will also ease the situation.
PPIB Managing Director informed the Prime Minister that 18 IPPs are in the pipeline and by 2008-09, the country will have an additional capacity of 3,350 MW that will bridge the gap between demand and supply of electricity.
Wapda Chairman informed the Prime Minister that presently there is no load-shedding in the country as a result of decreased temperatures and increased inflow of water in dams.
He said the demand of electricity increased by 15 to 20 per cent in June as compared to corresponding period of the last year. The initial projections for the years were estimated at 7.5 to 8 per cent, he said. The meeting was attended among others by Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance Dr Salman Shah, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Dr M. Akram Sheikh and senior officials.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.