ISLAMABAD: Power and Petroleum Minister Omar Ayub Khan said on Tuesday that the Power Division was in the process of finalising an Integrated Generation Expansion Plan (IGXEP) for national grid, which would regulate future demand and supply of energy with most affordable and feasible power projects.
The minister disclosed this during a meeting with Canadian High Commissioner Wendy Gilmour at his office on Tuesday. Power Division Secretary Irfan Ali was also present.
Briefing the envoy about IGXEP initiative, the minister said the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC), under the Power Division, was working on a plan that would ease out future energy generation with exact demand and supply forecast along with location.
About renewable energy projects and investment potential of the power sector, the minister said the government was committed to increasing the dependence on indigenous energy resources by bringing it up to 80pc [of the total mix] by 2030.
He said the share of renewable energy would be increased from current 2,500MW approximately to 8,000MW by 2025 and to 20,000MW by 2030.
“Together with hydel resources, the share of renewable energy would become 60pc by 2030 that wouldn’t only increase dependence on indigenous resources but would help the country save a huge amount of foreign exchange.”
Omar Ayub further informed the envoy that the government had for the first time introduced competitive bidding for new renewable energy projects that would contribute to bringing down the electricity prices in the country.
Wendy Gilmour appreciated the government for pursuing utilization of indigenous resources for electricity generation.
Terming the IGXEP plan as “excellent initiative”, the envoy said that the Canadian investors were keenly following the Pakistani government’s policies and considering various options to invest in the country.
