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- April 16, 2024
- Kainat Shakeel
- 0
ISLAMABAD: On Monday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued directives to those in charge of strong renewable energy management to reduce the nation’s $27 billion oil import bill and enhance the current electrical distribution infrastructure. In the end, switching to renewable energy is necessary. The billion-dollar oil import can be reduced by utilizing alternative resources like solar, wind, and hydrogen. At a meeting to assess the performance of the power sector, the prime minister declared, “Make cold calculations and I believe, you will be the winner in the long run.”
According to the prime minister, the mafia of crude oil tankers, which drain the country’s finances, can be eradicated by using renewable energy resources. He brought up the fact that the nation now imports $27 billion worth of oil to cover its demands for transportation and power, a sum that might be greatly decreased by switching to alternate energy sources. Speaking of the continuing campaign against electricity theft, he praised Punjab’s government’s performance and hoped other provinces would do the same to meet the challenge.
According to the prime minister, “unless the flaws in the transmission network are removed, strengthening the country’s power transmission system requires utmost efforts and investment otherwise the power production and investments in the sector would go down the drain.” He requested that the energy ministry hire eminent consultants to advise the government on how to strengthen the nation’s electricity transmission infrastructure. The prime minister gave concerned officials strict instructions in a separate meeting to implement drastic measures, such as moving imported coal-run plants, enhancing the power supply system, establishing affordable and renewable energy plants, and operating solar projects, to lower the cost of electricity per unit and benefit the general public.
Change to locally produced coal In addition to enhancing the power supply infrastructure, he oversaw the conversion of imported coal-powered power plants to domestic coal. The prime minister declared that only economical, clean, and renewable power plants should be built in the nation going forward. The 600 MW solar power project was brought up in the meeting, and the prime minister gave the order to move forward with the foreign investment application as soon as possible. The prime minister ordered an expedited auction of Power Generation Companies (Gencos) malfunctioning and defective power plants.
The current power generating capacity, the supply system, and the actions and recommendations of the government were briefed at the meeting. The nation’s future electricity supply and demand were also discussed at the summit. During the meeting, it was reported that switching from imported to domestic coal in coal-fired power plants could save consumers Rs2 per unit of electricity and valuable foreign exchange. The prime minister ordered that all measures be put into effect as soon as possible within the allotted period.