Merging the Ministry of Water and Power and Petroleum and Natural Resources into an Energy Ministry would allow the government to take energy related decisions in a holistic manner, noted economists told Business Recorder. An energy ministry would simplify the decision making process and strengthen co-ordination between all the stakeholders which will ensure better energy supply chain, they added.
Former Federal Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, Dr Hafiz A Pasha while supporting the idea suggested that in first step the government must merge Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) and National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) and in second phase it should go for creation of a single Energy Ministry.
Dr Ashfaq Hassan Khan, Dean Business School National University of Science and Technology (NUST) said that an energy ministry will improve co-ordination from fuel supply chain to end consumers. He added that by doing this the government will be in a better position to forecast future demand/supply of different fuels for all the sectors of economy. The January 2015 petrol crisis was a result of poor co-ordination among the suppliers, regulators and policy makers and if there was a single ministry the crisis could have been averted, Dr Hassan maintained.
Engineer Arshad Abbasi, Energy Advisor of Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), argued that an energy ministry would be as effective as the people who would be running its affairs. He said that in India there are four ministries dealing with energy related issues - coal, oil and gas, renewable resources and water, and they are all running smoothly by professionals, but in Pakistan professionalism is totally absent.