ISLAMABAD
Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCE), Tuesday, accorded approval to establish 1200 megawatt Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) based power plant in the country and no power shutdown during the on-going holy month of Ramzan on account of development works.
CCE meeting was held here under the chair Prime Minister (PM) Muhammad Nawaz Sharif to discuss and review the power situation of the country.
Perturbed over absence of inculcating contingency factors in the planning by Water & Power Ministry, Prime Minister (PM) Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, Tuesday, directed the authorities to undertake measures to provide maximum electricity when most required during months of peak power demand.
PM Nawaz Sharif while chairing the meeting of CCE also emphasized that pro-active planning should be exercised regarding power supply and demand. He said it is very unfortunate that planning by relevant authorities is undertaken without inculcating important contingency factors that could not be ruled out.
The PM directed the Ministry of Water and Power to undertake power supply and demand analysis till the year 2023 so as to undertake integrated long-term planning with regard to fulfilling energy requirements of the country over the foreseeable future.
Nawaz Sharif also directed to work out shifting of scheduled outages of power plants on account of repairs and maintenance from summer season to winter season so that maximum power is provided when most required during months of peak power demand.
The meeting also decided that factors including increase in use of electric appliances due to economic prosperity and behavioral patterns of power consumers be included in the estimation of projected power demands.
Secretary Water and Power Division briefed the meeting on progress of decisions made in the previous meeting including working of the inter-ministerial committee of finance, water and power and petroleum and natural resources ministries, power supply and demand analysis till September 2018 and utilization of idle power plants.
Minister for Finance Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal, Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, and other senior officials attended the meeting.
