The Power Division has categorically refuted the Sindh energy minister’s statements in which he alleged that the draft Alternative and Renewable Energy Policy (ARE Policy) 2019 was formulated “without consultation of Sindh”.
In response to the Sindh minister, the Power Division stated that all provinces, including Sindh, were not only consulted at every step during the formulation of this policy, but it was also ensured that the role of all provinces in future approvals and implementation of renewable energy projects was prominent and pivotal.
The Power Division spokesperson, while providing the background of the process of the ARE Policy 2019 formulation, said that the government was emphasizing on the utilization of indigenous and environmentally clean energy generation resources.
“Development of alternative and renewable energy technologies is now among the top priorities of the government. Consequent to expiry of RE Policy 2006 in March, 2018, AEDB initiated the formulation of a new Alternative & Renewable Energy Policy (ARE Policy 2019) in view of government’s decision to come up with a policy aimed at creating a conducive environment supported by a robust framework for the sustainable growth of ARE Sector in Pakistan.
“The government has targeted achieving 20pc capacity from ARE technologies by 2025 and 30pc capacity by 2030,” he said.
“The first draft of the ARE Policy 2019 was circulated among relevant stakeholders by the Ministry of Energy (Power Division) on 12th April 2019 for views/comments. AEDB also carried out a two-day consultative stakeholder workshop on the draft ARE Policy 2019 on 22-23 August 2019 in Islamabad. Consultation on the draft ARE Policy 2019 was done with all relevant public sector entities, provincial energy departments, all major multilateral and DFIs (World Bank, Asian Development Bank, USAID, KfW, IFC, UNIDO, GIZ), major trade associations in the solar, wind and biomass business, academia, well known professionals like law firms, bankers and advisors in power sector,” he maintained.
The spokesperson said that the draft ARE Policy 2019 was revised on the basis of inputs and suggestions received from the stakeholders and was placed before the AEDB Board in its 45th Board Meeting held on 13th September 2019 for approval.
It is worth mentioning that the AEDB Board included representation of all four provinces as board members.
“Based on the detailed deliberations on the draft policy held during the 45th AEDB Board meeting held on 13th September 2019 and the request of the members, the board agreed to provide additional two weeks for further review of the draft policy by the members and submission of suggestions/recommendations aimed towards improving the policy framework as envisaged in the draft placed before the board. Certain queries/clarifications sought by the Sindh Energy Department were also responded to by AEDB.
“The draft ARE policy 2019 along with the comments/recommendations received from the board members including all provincial governments were again placed before the AEDB Board in its 46th AEDB Board meeting held on 10th October 2019. The AEDB Board approved the draft ARE Policy 2019 with the incorporation of majority of the recommendations suggested by the board members specifically by Sindh and Punjab. The minutes were subsequently confirmed in AEDB Board meeting held on October 31st, 2019,” the spokesman stated.
