ISLAMABAD: A special meeting chaired by Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar has decided that Karachi will receive additional 1,400 MW of electricity through the construction and upgrade of grid stations at Karachi West, and Bin Qasim.

The minister reviewed the future electricity demand/supply outlook of Karachi by chairing a special committee meeting, here on Monday, and deliberated upon the possible measures to supply additional electricity to Karachi through the national grid to meet the future requirements.

Asad Umar, who is also chairman of the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCOE), directed the concerned quarters to look into the commercial aspects of the projects, and to remove any bottlenecks in the construction of new grid stations.

He assured all the stakeholders that the federal government would provide support to ensure uninterrupted supply of electricity to Karachiites.

The meeting was informed that the electricity demand in Karachi was expected to rise to almost 4,100 MW by 2023, and thus, would require additional 1,400 MW to meet the future requirements.

The meeting was informed that to meet the future requirements of Karachi, the CCOE had given the requisite approvals for the supply of 500MW from K2/K3 project.

The meeting was also briefed about the commissioning of new gas plants to replace the old thermal power plants running at low efficiency. Minister for Power Omar Ayub Khan, SAPM on Petroleum Nadeem Babar, SAPM on Mineral Development Shahzad Qasim, and officials from the NEPRA, the NTDC, and the K-Electric were present during the meeting.