PEW lauds government’s energy policy

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Economy Watch Thursday lauded government’s energy policy and efforts, saying that the incumbent government had given more attention to the energy sector than any other government in the history of the country.

The credit of development of the energy sector and reduction in the magnitude of crisis goes to the Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, PEW said in a statement issued here.

The government realised that increased demand and reducing the output of gas could only be tackled through imports and it got two LNG terminals completed in record time. This added 1.2 billion cubic feet of the gas in the system providing relief to the industrial, commercial and domestic consumers which strengthened the economy, said Dr. Murtaza Mughal, President PEW.

He said that LNG helped generate 3600 megawatts of cheap electricity and helped the government save 1.2 billion dollars annually.

Dr. Murtaza Mughal said that it also enabled the government to lift a ban on the new gas connections which was intact since six years.

Efforts are underway to import gas from Turkmenistan which will further improve that situation while the LNG pipeline from Karachi to Lahore being constructed at a cost of two billion dollars will give a new life to the industrial sector, he added. The efforts of the government have resulted in increased production, job opportunities and revenue, he noted.

He said that if a major change was not allowed in the LNG policy, it would help country match imports to the local production within two years.