ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Friday emphasized timely completion of the ongoing power projects, and directed the heads of the relevant organizations to come-up with timelines for the completion of the ongoing power sector projects.
While chairing a meeting held at Prime Minister Office in Islamabad to review power generation and demand supply situation in the Country, the prime minister directed that less-efficient power plants should be closed in a phased manner and every effort should be made to convert oil-based plants to gas in a shortest possible time in view of availability of ample gas for the power sector.
Abbasi observed that the conversion of oil-based plants to gas and maximizing the efficiency of the existing power plants would not only reduced oil import bill of the Country but would also ensure maximum availability of power.
The prime minister also directed that greater coordination should be ensured between Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA), Private Power & Infrastructure Board (PPIB) and Pakistan LNG Terminals Limited (PLTL) for ensuring availability and maximum utilization of gas for the power sector.
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi also directed all relevant stakeholders to increase coordination among themselves for optimum utilization of the available resources and ensuring maximum efficiency in the power sector. He said that decisions on policy matters should not be kept lingering as such type of ambivalence creates uncertainty and negative sentiments for the investors.
The meeting reviewed projected estimates of power generation and the expected demand in the coming four months i.e from November 2017 to February 2018.
The prime minister was informed the average demand for the next four months, calculated on the basis of data received from various discos, stands at around 14452MW while the average net firm generation after deducting any unforeseen outages from IPPs and Gencos would remain at 16865MW approximately.
It was informed that the projected surplus for the next four months has been estimated to range between 2400MW to 3400MW approximately.
