The rising trend in oil prices in international market might hit the Ministry of Water and Power plan to rationalise electricity tariff. Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali, Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz and Minister for Water and Power Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao reviewed the plan here on Tuesday.
Sources told Business Recorder that the Ministry of Water and Power was confronted with certain challenges in power tariff rationalisation owing to persistent increase in oil prices in the international market.
They said that the ministry was looking for reduction in rate of furnace oil, which is used for fuelling purposes in electricity production units.
The rationalising of electricity tariff for Wapda and KESC might be meaningless if the oil prices in the international market continued to rise.
The ministry plans that converting the existing power plants into gas-fired plants would take longer time than expected. The planned mechanism cannot benefit the domestic and industrial consumers on short-term basis, sources said.
The ministry is also under pressure from different circles for rationalising the power tariff so that the government could achieve the target growth in both industrial and agricultural output.
The Prime Minister said that rationalised and reduced power tariff would boost agricultural and industrial sectors for increasing the Gross Domestic Production (GDP).
He directed the ministry to diversify energy resources that can be used for power production.
According to a statement, Sherpao said gas-fired plants would reduce the input cost. New power plants shall be located near gas fields that would ensure uninterrupted gas supply to these plants and would also ensure supply of electricity.
He said that far-flung areas of the country could not be electrified from the national grid and the ministry was working on providing electricity through community participation.
In northern areas, where hydropower potential is available, communities shall run such projects, he said.
He said that a network of alternative energy resources run power projects would be established in Balochistan and southern regions of the country.
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