A meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCOE) has approved, in principle, setting up of a new LNG-based 1200MW power plant in the country to tackle the energy problem.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who chaired the CCOE meeting granted approval to the LNG-based power plant, however, the location is yet to decide. The Prime Minister wanted the power plant to be set up close to the LNG gas pipeline so that its cost could be minimized.
Secretary Water & Power Division briefed the meeting on progress of decisions made in the previous meeting including working of the inter-ministerial committee of Finance, Water & Power and Petroleum & Natural Resources ministries, power supply and demand analysis till September 2018 and utilization of idle power plants.
The Prime Minister emphasized that proactive planning should be exercised regarding power supply and demand. It is very unfortunate that planning by relevant authorities is undertaken without inculcating important contingency factors that could not be ruled out, added the Prime Minister.
Ministry of Water & Power was directed to undertake power supply and demand analysis till the year 2023 so as to undertake integrated long-term planning with regard to fulfilling energy requirements of the country over the foreseeable future.
The Water and Power Minister was also directed to work-out shifting of scheduled outages of power plants on account of repairs and maintenance from summer season to winter season so that maximum power is provided when most required during months of peak power demand.
The meeting also decided that all the factors including increased use of electric appliances by power consumers should be taken into account for projecting power demands for the coming years.
Minister for Finance Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Minister for Water & Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Minister for Petroleum & Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Minister for Planning & Development Ahsan Iqbal, Chief Minister Punjab Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Ms. Marryum Aurangzeb and other senior officials attended the meeting.
