Energy woes: ‘Ending loadshedding top priority’

Minister for Water and Power Khwaja Muhammad Asif said an energy conservation drive would be launched soon.

SIALKOT: Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif said on Saturday that a mechanism was being evolved to bridge the gap between demand and supply of electricity in the country.

Talking to newsmen, he said ending the energy crisis was a priority of the government.

“It is unfortunate that the power generation sector was ignored by previous regimes. That deepened the crisis,” he said.

The minister said the government was considering several plans for generating electricity. He said the government had planned for both short and long-term relief. He said an energy conservation drive would be launched soon. He appealed to electricity consumers to refrain from using excess electricity during peak hours and join hands with the government to end the electricity shortfall.

He said support from the consumers was a vital part of the energy conservation drive.

“We will be able to add electricity to national grid in February. Hopefully that will help further reducing the duration of load shedding in the country,” he claimed.

He said the government was also exploring alternative power generation projects.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 20^th, 2013.