KARACHI: An Energy Awareness Conference was held on Saturday at the NED University, Karachi.

The organisers said that the conference was aimed at creating better awareness about the need to shift from traditional energy resources to renewable energy.

The Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) was the lead sponsor of the conference.

Addressing the NED students on the use of coal power as an alternative energy source in Pakistan, Manager Strategic Planning and Business Development, KESC, Muhammad Ammar Ali Talaat, said coal is keeping pace with consumer electricity demand and according to a recent study, coal will still account for about 45% to 50% of world's power generation needs until 2025.

He said that Pakistan has huge reserves of coal which offers the best solution for its energy needs.

KESC, it was pointed out, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a Chinese company to convert two of its existing boilers at  Bin Qasim Thermal Power Station from furnace oil to coal.

The conversion aims to reduce KESC's reliance on furnace oil and result in cost savings for the company and consumers in the form of tariff reduction.

KESC has also signed an MoU with another Chinese company for the development of Saunda-Jherruck Integrated Coal Mine and Power Plant Project. The annual production of this project will be 1.8 million tons of coal.

Talking about KESC's Thar Coal Power Project, Ammar said KESC has partnered with a British company that will handle the mining part while KESC will put up a power plant of 300 megawatts which will be enhanced to 1,200 Megawatt in the future.

The speaker pointed out that in Pakistan a potential 3,000 megawatt power plants are run on furnace oil and, if measures are taken to convert these power plants to coal, the country will be in a position to save approximately dollars one billion  per year.