In a major policy shift, the PTI government has decided to allow power plants only on indigenous resources, a policy totally opposite to that of the previous government. This was stated by the Minister for Power, Omar Ayub Khan while presiding over the 120th Board meeting of Private Power Infrastructure Board (PPIB) on Wednesday.
The Minister who had expressed annoyance at PPIB's poor performance in the first meeting of PPIB Board, underscored that Pakistan is full of indigenous and natural resources which can be utilized for generating adequate and affordable electricity.
"For achieving sustainability in the system, we need to arrange investments in transmission system and also in power generation by prioritizing indigenous resources," he added.
In order to provide affordable electricity to people, the Minister observed that it is necessary that local resources should be further exploited and all projects under process should be facilitated and expedited, he added.
In this regard, the Board approved extension in Letter of Interest of 350 MW Athmuqam Hydropower Project which is located on River Neelum in Azad Jammu & Kashmir.
The Board advised that new projects should be initiated after demand-supply studies are completed so that a situation of deficit or excess generation capacity in the country does not arise. The Board agreed that coordination between various government departments must be improved for efficient and timely implementation of all projects. The Secretary Power Division stressed the need for proper planning and timely establishment of transmission and evacuation arrangements for upcoming projects.
While acknowledging the role being played by PPIB in the implementation of Pakistan's first private sector +660 kV HVDC Matiari-Lahore transmission line project, the Minister advised NTDC to be proactive in acquisition of land for convertor stations and other ancillaries required for the project.
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