Cheap electricity part of expansion project: Leghari

Energy minister says ISMO will be created by restructuring NTDC

ISLAMABAD:

Energy Minister Awais Laghari said on Wednesday that the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) was being restructured with the creation of the Independent System and Market Operator (ISMO) under the ongoing energy sector reforms.

Addressing an event on "Governance Reforms after the Eighteenth Amendment" organised by the British High Commission, the minister said that efforts were afoot to include low-cost electricity in the power expansion project.

He acknowledged that reforms in the energy sector faced challenges because of the economic pressures, adding that the energy sector suffered because of a lack of planning. "We are trying to include low cost electricity in the power expansion plan," he said.

The minister stated that the people, who could afford, were shifting to solar power, but it remained a burden on the general public. He added the government planned to increase the share of renewable energy in Pakistan's energy mix to 88% by 2034. "Reforms are needed to promote transparency and inclusion in the social security system to empower communities and improve governance," he said. "The local governments are the foundation of democracy," he added.

He pointed out that major problems facing the economy included growing population, health crisis, water problems and lack of education system. "We need investment in water storage and utilisation system," he stressed.