ISLAMABAD: The business community has urged the government to focus on renewable energy in a bid to significantly reduce the cost of production and pave the way for rapid revival of the economy.

The President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Faad Waheed in a meeting with Muhammad Ali, Federal Minister for Energy here on Friday, said that the country was heavily dependent on thermal power which is highly expensive and created the menace of circular debt which despite successive increase in power tariff has surged to over Rs2.30 trillion.

Waheed said that Pakistan is relying on thermal energy, which is more expensive making Pakistani businesses uncompetitive. However, increasing the share of renewable energy will make electricity cheaper for industry, achieve greater energy security, reduce carbon emissions and enable Pakistan to save billions of dollars every year.

Waheed said that the share of thermal power is over 58.8 percent in the total energy mix, hydel 25.8 percent and renewable is just 6.8 percent as of July-March 2023 and stressed that the government should take solid measures to increase the share of renewable to over 50 percent in order to make a hefty cut in the production cost, boost investment and put the country on the path of sustainable economic growth.

He said that a World Bank’s report estimates that utilising just 0.071 percent of the country’s area for solar energy would meet Pakistan’s current electricity demand and urged that all possible efforts should be made to exploit this huge untapped cheap energy potential.

The Minister for Energy assured the business community that the government is committed to increasing the share of renewable energy in its energy mix to achieve a sustainable energy future. He said that Pakistan is blessed with abundant potential for solar and wind power and the government is working to exploit them with international support and investment.

He said that the government’s supportive policies and incentives for renewable energy would transition the country towards a cleaner, more sustainable, environment-friendly, affordable and resilient energy landscape. He said that the future of renewable energy in Pakistan holds great promises and the government is working to enhance its share which would also benefit the entrepreneurs and investors by bringing down their cost of doing business and investment in the country.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023