Several projects planned for sustainable energy

Govt seeks to build strategic oil reserves to meet consumer needs for 30 to 45 days

ISLAMABAD:

The government has decided to take several measures including expanding the strategic oil reserves for sustainable energy supply across the country.

At present, commercial reserves are kept for 20 days only. In the Annual Plan 2026-27, the government said that efforts would be made to reduce the dependence on fuel imports and build strategic reserves to cover 30 to 45 days of consumer demand.

The US-Israel-Iran war has left Pakistan vulnerable to an oil crisis because of the absence of strategic oil buffers. Though all regional countries including India maintain strategic fuel storages, Pakistan has not made any meaningful progress on this front. Pakistan has offered all Middle Eastern countries, especially the oil-producing nations, to build strategic oil reserves and they will receive incentives as well. The government is also focusing on upgrading the country's oil refineries in a bid to accelerate the transition towards producing Euro V environmentally friendly fuels. It has announced that it will develop a 500-kilovolt transmission corridor from Ghazi Barotha to Faisalabad under the sustainable energy agenda for fiscal year 2026-27. Plans are underway to shift fuel transportation from costly road networks to a more efficient pipeline system while expanding the terminal storage capacity.

Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and Statcom devices will be integrated into the national power network for sustainable energy. The new 500kV transmission corridor will have the capacity to transmit 2,300 megawatts of electricity and an additional 1,820 megawatts of clean energy capacity will also be connected to the national grid.

The power sector will receive a public investment of Rs151.259 billion under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2026-27 aimed at increasing the share of renewable energy in the power generation mix to 30% by 2030.

Public sector investment will be aligned with private participation in refining and liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure to support a data-driven energy future.

Under the renewable energy target of 30% of the power generation mix, a further 3,787 MW of clean electricity generation capacity will be added to the national grid. A total of 34 core water infrastructure projects valuing at Rs1.848 trillion are being implemented with an allocation of Rs97.354 billion in FY 2025-26. Under the FY27 PSDP, an allocation of Rs74.920 billion has been made for the water resources sector.