NEW DEHLI:
India has offered to sell power to Pakistan in order to help the country overcome its chronic power shortage, said Pakistan’s Commerce Secretary Zafar Mehmood on Wednesday.
Mehmood added that the offer would be discussed during his meetings with his Indian counterpart, scheduled to take place in Islamabad on April 27 and 28. However, India has not yet confirmed such an offer.
With India expected to have a normal monsoon season this year, the country’s hydroelectric power plants are likely to produce more power, reducing the spells of power outages. While India experiences an 11 per cent power deficit even during off-peak hours, it does have some seasonal surpluses in its southern and eastern grids.
India is the world’s fifth largest producer of electricity. More than half of India’s power comes from coal, though over one-fifth comes from hydroelectric plants. The country generates over 700 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity a year.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 21st, 2011.
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