The News..........................OCT 17,2011.
LAHORE . THERE is a need to involve all the public and private sector stakeholders and experts to evolved a comprehensive national energy policy to end the on going energy crisis in the country and chalk out future plan as well.
This was a consensus reached by the participants in Jang Economic Session on Continuous Electricity Crisis - Permanent Solution here on Wednesday. The participants were Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) Director General Ijaz Rafiq Qureshi, Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) President Javeed Kiyani, PEPCO former Managing Director Tahir Basharat Cheema and Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry Energy Committee former Convener Engineer Mohsin Syed. Sikandar Hameed Lodhi and Intikhab Tariq hosted the event.
Ijaz Rafiq Qureshi said the PEPCO was taking stern action against electricity theft to ensure smooth supply to consumers. In his regard, 43,000 FIRs were registered against the electricity thieves and Rs 2.2 billion were recovered. He said 24,000 mega watt power projects were in the pipeline in the country. He said 19 memorandums of understanding had been signed with China for energy sector projects while progress on importing 1,000 mega watt power from Iran was underway. He said sugar industry could also supply up to 3,000 mega watt on which PEPCO was working as well, but sugar mills were not ready to take responsibility for energy production loses.
Javeed Kiyani said the PSMA offered the government to supply up to 3,000 mega watt electricity through bagasse which was cheaper after hydel power. However, he said federal government did not respond to Punjab government s request to settled tariff rate by NEPRA. He said sugar industry electricity could ensure economic activity in the rural areas of the country which played vital role in economic growth. Tahir Basharat Cheema said the years from 2000 to 2007 were crucial for energy sector of Pakistan but the then government didn t look into it and created monopoly of private sector on it. He said during 2000 to 2007 government withdrew gas facility from power generation units and gave it to CNG station sector which increased power generation cost while government was unable to meet the cost through electricity tariff. He called for public private partnership for long-term solution to energy crisis.
Engineer Mohsin Syed said per capita electricity consumption in Pakistan was less than 500 units as compared to 3,500 units in Malaysia which needed to be increased. He said the policy-makers instead of utilizing local engineering facilities and power sector equipment preferred the furnace power generation for their vested interests.
This was a consensus reached by the participants in Jang Economic Session on Continuous Electricity Crisis - Permanent Solution here on Wednesday. The participants were Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) Director General Ijaz Rafiq Qureshi, Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) President Javeed Kiyani, PEPCO former Managing Director Tahir Basharat Cheema and Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry Energy Committee former Convener Engineer Mohsin Syed. Sikandar Hameed Lodhi and Intikhab Tariq hosted the event.
Ijaz Rafiq Qureshi said the PEPCO was taking stern action against electricity theft to ensure smooth supply to consumers. In his regard, 43,000 FIRs were registered against the electricity thieves and Rs 2.2 billion were recovered. He said 24,000 mega watt power projects were in the pipeline in the country. He said 19 memorandums of understanding had been signed with China for energy sector projects while progress on importing 1,000 mega watt power from Iran was underway. He said sugar industry could also supply up to 3,000 mega watt on which PEPCO was working as well, but sugar mills were not ready to take responsibility for energy production loses.
Javeed Kiyani said the PSMA offered the government to supply up to 3,000 mega watt electricity through bagasse which was cheaper after hydel power. However, he said federal government did not respond to Punjab government s request to settled tariff rate by NEPRA. He said sugar industry electricity could ensure economic activity in the rural areas of the country which played vital role in economic growth. Tahir Basharat Cheema said the years from 2000 to 2007 were crucial for energy sector of Pakistan but the then government didn t look into it and created monopoly of private sector on it. He said during 2000 to 2007 government withdrew gas facility from power generation units and gave it to CNG station sector which increased power generation cost while government was unable to meet the cost through electricity tariff. He called for public private partnership for long-term solution to energy crisis.
Engineer Mohsin Syed said per capita electricity consumption in Pakistan was less than 500 units as compared to 3,500 units in Malaysia which needed to be increased. He said the policy-makers instead of utilizing local engineering facilities and power sector equipment preferred the furnace power generation for their vested interests.