By Uzma Zafar
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Monday directed Power Division to employ technology to save paying consumers from load-management in low recovery grids. He was chairing 48th meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) here.
The meeting was attended by Federal Ministers Mr. Hammad Azhar, Dr. Fehmida Mirza, Mr. Asad Umar, Mr. Shaukat Fayaz Tareen, Dr. Farogh Naseem, Ch. Fawad Ahmed, Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar, Chief Minister Sind Syed Murad Ali Shah, Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mr. Mehmood Khan, SAPM Mr. Tabish Gohar, Minister Finance KP Mr. Taimoor Saleem Jhagra, Minister Energy Sind Mr. Imtiaz Ahmed Sheikh, Minister Inter Provincial Coordination Balochistan Mr. Umar Khan Jamali, Chairman NEPRA Mr. Tauseef H Farooqi and senior federal and provincial secretaries.
Power Division provided a detailed presentation on preparation of “Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan (IGCEP) 2021”.
IGCEP is a plan prepared by National Transmission & Dispatch Company (NTDC), on annual basis that provides indicative electricity demand and supply for the next Ten (10) years based on overall requirements and with least cost.
CCI was informed that Power Division held several consultative sessions with all provinces and AJ&K.
The Prime Minister stated that the main objective of IGCEP is to determine plan of action based on meeting the energy needs and providing cheap energy to the masses. He emphasized that the aim of the government is to reform energy generation, transmission and distribution into an efficient system.
The Prime Minister directed Power Division to employ technology based solutions at distribution companies’ level in order to save the interests of paying consumers from the inconvenience of load-management in low recovery grids.CCI unanimously approved IGCEP assumptions as recommended by the Federal Cabinet in its meeting held on 31st August, 2021.CCI decided to include Hydel electricity in renewable energy targets. Further, CCI directed Power Division to finalize “wheeling” policy so that it could be rolled out immediately.
