Cabinet committee on energy: Jamshoro power plant reaches financial close

Over 1,500 MW of new power production to come online in summer


Abdul Manan March 13, 2015
Over 1,500 MW of new power production to come online in summer. STOCK IMAGE

ISLAMABAD: The 1,320-megawatt Jamshoro power plant has reached financial close, according to officials who briefed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCE) on Thursday, adding that over 1,500 MW of new power generation capacity would be brought online before the summer demand peak.

At the 11th CCE meeting, the prime minister expressed a sense of urgency about the new power projects the government was funding, taking a personal interest in the details of each. Even though the Jamshoro plant has reached financial close, Sharif demanded the project be fast-tracked and its timelines shortened so that the capacity could come online in early 2018.

Elections are scheduled to be held in August 2018 and the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) wants to be able to significantly ameliorate the chronic power crisis in the country before the campaign season heats up. The seriousness with which the PML-N is taking the energy crisis is measured by the list of people who are members of the CCE, which includes all the major party heavyweights, including Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

The prime minister also demanded that the liquefied natural gas-fired 3,600 MW power plants in Karachi be constructed faster and asked for the project to be completed by February 2017. The project will be funded through the federal development budget.

A key concern of the prime minister was the duration of power outages during the hot summer months, when demand hits its peak as urban consumers of electricity switch on their energy-guzzling air conditioning units. Sharif demanded that such outages should last no more than six hours a day in urban areas and eight hours a day in rural areas.

He also urged the government to continue promoting energy conservation.

The CCE was informed that more than 1,500 MW of new power generation will be brought online by the summer to meet peak demand, including 750 MW through the power plant at Guddu, 425 MW at Nandipur, 150 MW through wind power and 100 MW through solar energy.

The committee also decided to review the modalities of cost recovery like joint venture and equity participation with the Railway Freight Corporation.

Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) Chairman Zafar Mahmood briefed the meeting on matters relating to the Diamir-Bhasha and Neelum-Jhelum Dams.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 13th, 2015.

COMMENTS (1)

Shaikh | 9 years ago | Reply Nobody has a magic wand to fix the mess. It will take time but its good to see the govt is serious.
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