Thar Coal project to generate 5000 MW: PM

KARACHI:The government has chalked out a plan to produce 5,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity under the Thar Coal Power Generation Project, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has said.
He stated this in a message on the occasion of second anniversary of a magazine Energy Update here Tuesday.
Power generation capacity under the project will be be enhanced to 20,000 MW in the long run.
The Prime Minister said that the country was presently in the grip of a serious power crisis with power shortages of 3,000 MW and this shortage was likely to go up to 4,000 MW next year.
He recalled that the biggest ever investment from the day of establishment of Pakistan in the power sector was made during the previous PPP government.
The Power Policy of 1994 led to an additional 3,078 MW of electricity production, which in return led to $ 3.5 billion investment.
Giving details of the measures being taken on urgent basis, Gilani said the present government has devised and is implementing an ambitious plan to cope with the immediate and future needs of the country in the energy sector.
“During this year, we shall install 2200 mega watt power generation units,” he said.
The Prime Minister said the government was giving equal attention to energy saving. “We plan to save 500 mega watt of electricity through special load management campaigns, thereby scaling down load shedding.”
Moreover, PEPCO has been directed to ensure provision of 10 million energy saver bulbs at an appropriate price to consumers, he added.
He said that he was pleased to learn that the magazine was objective in reporting, open to suggestions and pragmatic in advice to the government, while adhering to healthy norms of journalism. It is encouraging that the “Energy Update” is projecting all aspects of energy sector and highlighting its true potentials in Pakistan as well as abroad, he observed.
The prime minister hoped the national media including the “Energy Update” will support the energy saving campaign and also supplement the government’s efforts to achieve energy security, which is vital for a sustainable growth of the national economy.
“I congratulate the management and the editorial staff of the “Energy Update” on the second anniversary of the magazine and wish them success in future.
Meanwhile, Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan in his message said that the government was taking every measure to improve power supply to industry, business as well as household on the one hand, and pursuing the steps for energy conservation on the other hand.
He also acknowledged the role of Energy Update in highlighting the crucial importance of energy in country’s economic development through its candid analysis and objective reporting.
“It is heartening to note that the magazine was also trying to persuade the government by publishing foreign and local technical and research reports on the use and benefits of alternate sources of energy like wind and solar,” said the Governor.