Cosmetic measures: Govt releases Rs10b to deal with energy crisis

Khoso orders finalisation of 56.4mw wind power project.

ISLAMABAD:

The caretaker government has directed the finance ministry to release Rs10 billion to the Ministry of Water and Power to counter the ongoing electricity crisis, the prime minister’s office said on Monday.

The decision was taken at a high level meeting presided by Interim Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso in Islamabad, with the worsening energy crisis on top of the agenda.

Finance Adviser Dr Shahid Amjad Chaudhry informed the premier that in compliance with his directives, Rs10 billion were being released to the Water and Power Ministry to procure fuel for thermal power plants.

The remaining funds, which have approved by the premier, would be released in accordance with his (Khoso’s) instructions, he added.

The interim premier has also directed all formalities pertaining to the generation and production of a 56.4-megawatt wind power project, installed by a Turkish company, to be completed without delay and connected to the national grid system within 48 hours.

The CEO of Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco), Muzaffar Abbasi, informed the meeting that transmission lines had been laid out and were ready to transmit electricity from the wind mill project to the national grid.

Last week, Turkish Ambassador to Pakistan Mustafa Babur Hizlan met Prime Minister Khoso and told him the project was ready for energy production.

Khoso said that the addition of 56.4 MW to the national grid was a welcome development, and one that would provide relief to the people at a time when the country is starved of energy.



Expert view

According to a study carried out by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) this year, the efficiency of thermal power plants in Pakistan is abnormally low.

The study stated that the consumption of high quantity fuel to generate per unit electricity has been causing low power generation and extremely high costs.

Dr M Arshad Javaid, a researcher on the energy sector, said that Pakistan has been facing an unprecedented energy crisis for years. The situation arose due to a lack of management and planning on higher levels and also because of endemic corruption as well, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2013.