I want loadshedding-free Pakistan by December, PM Nawaz tells authorities

ISLAMABAD - Expressing displeasure over the extended load shedding in the country, prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday made it clear to the federal cabinet and the departments concerned that he wanted an end to load-shedding by December, this year.

According to a report by Dawn news, the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCOE) meeting held under the chair of prime minister primarily focused on ways to eradicate power-cuts.

The participants who met for the fourth time in twenty days were told by the premier that he desired Pakistan to get rid off load-shedding by December in a bid to face the masses with confidence in next year’s general election.

'Anticipated planning has not been exercised by the relevant ministries and their organisations for which responsibility must be fixed' said the premier.

The prime minister repeatedly told the participants that he was not ready to allow an extension in the deadline for completion of important generation and transmission projects beyond Decem­ber.

An official statement said the prime minister expressed resentment over the current load shedding schedule. He said it was the government’s responsibility to provide relief to the masses.

Secretary for water and power Yousaf Naseem Khokhar briefed PM Sharif about the availability and utilisation of idle capacity of plants run by the independent power producers (IPP's) and captive power plants to the extent of 2,000MW and discussed load management plan for the summer.

'866MW of power generation had been restored to the system this month and another 400MW would be added by mid-May' told Naseem Khokhar.

The prime minister directed the power secretary to constitute a dedicated team for hourly monitoring of the power supply situation. The team must also report on the monitoring of power transmission and distribution system as well on a weekly basis.

He directed the water and power secretary to present a line of action for resolution of issues related to idle plants and present a report in two days.

On the other hand, Minister for Water and Power, Khwaja Asif told the meeting that a programme for power system constraints resolution was currently in full swing and would be completed by December.

The meeting was attended by Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar, Minister for Petroleum & Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Water & Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting Maryum Aurangzeb, Special Assistant to PM Tariq Fatemi and senior officials.