Govt committed to cost effective development of energy sector: Khusro Bakhtyar

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning, Development & Reform Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar on Thursday said the government was committed to systematic and cost effective development of energy sector.

Chairing the 2nd Steering Committee meeting on Integrated Energy Planning for Sustainable Development in Islamabad, Khusro Bakhtyar said, in this regard, the government was working on integrated energy planning for sustainable development.

The minister said that the government was making endeavours to provide affordable energy to the masses and a robust energy policy was being formulated in coordination with all stakeholders for sustained economic growth. He said lack of an integrated energy planning in the past affected our energy sector and consequentially the country’s economic growth.

Khusro Bakhtyar added the present government was fully committed to steer this initiative to meaningful policy formulation and its implementation adding that the government had also constituted a task force on energy in this regard. He highlighted that the government was also working on a renewable energy policy to tap the indigenous resources.

He noted that the cost of renewable energy technologies has come down adding that the Government will encourage competitive bidding for tariff determination for future renewable energy projects which will bring per megawatt generation cost down.

The Minister said that the Government will prioritize the energy infrastructure needs in the next PSDP to bridge the gap between transmission and distribution part of energy supply chain. Speaking on the occasion, Mission Director USAID Pakistan Jerrry Bisson said that the Agency will continue to extend cooperation for integrated energy planning initiative.

The Minister also called for expansion of the Steering Committee to include Chairman Prime Minister Task Force on Energy and Special Assistant to PM on Power.

Secretary Planning Zafar Hasan, Chairman Prime Minister Task Force Nadeem Babar, Special Assistant to PM on Power Shahzad Qasim, representatives from USAID Pakistan and US Department of Energy were also present in the meeting.

It is pertinent to mention here that USAID Pakistan and Planning Commission had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on November 8, 2016 for cooperation in integrated energy planning. In line with the provision of MoU, a Steering Committee on IEP was formulated to take the initiative forward.

Petroleum Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan had on February 11 said that the government was adopting new policies to boost investment in energy sector.

Terming uninterrupted power supply vital for economic growth, Ghulam Sarwar Khan had said that the government was making all efforts to overcome the prevailing energy crises in the country.