Energy Minister Omar Ayub Khan said on Monday that the federal government, through its new agreement with IPPs, was working towards reducing the cost of electricity in the country, adding that reforms pertaining to the power sector would be introduced within the next three weeks.
The energy minister, while addressing a press conference, blamed the previous governments for the country’s energy crisis and said that the previous regimes had not done sufficient work to uplift the energy sector. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on the Power Division Shahzad Qasim was also present during the press conference.
Commenting on the government’s new agreement with the Independent Power Producers (IPPs), the energy minister said that the agreement will promote industries and help reduce the burden of circular debt.
He said that the government will introduce reforms in the power sector and bring forward more information within three weeks.
He further said that the new agreement will help provide cheaper electricity to the end consumers adding that the government wants to provide cheap electricity to the agriculture sector and small businesses which will help these sectors lower their production costs.
Earlier on August 15, the federal government announced that it has signed a new agreement with the IPPs under which the cost of electricity generation would be brought down and circular debt would be reduced.
“I congratulate the nation because we are fixing the damaging structure we inherited in our power sector,” Prime Minister Imran Khan had said in a series of tweets.
The prime minister had also promised that he would soon introduce a package that would focus on improving the distribution system by tackling line losses and theft.
Moreover, Information Minister Shibli Faraz and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Power Division Shahzad Qasim had said that the new agreement with the IPPs links the profit on local investment with the Pakistani rupee.
