Year: 2020

Pakistan pushes renewables – but coal expansion continues too

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ISLAMABAD (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Pakistan this week set in motion a plan to boost the share of its electric power that comes from renewables to 30% by 2030, up from about 4% today, government officials said. “The targets in the newly announced policy are a 20% share of renewables in installed capacity of Pakistan’s power mix by 2025 and 30% by 2030,” said Syed Aqeel Hussain Jafry, policy director for the government’s Alternative Energy Development Board. That will include mainly wind and solar power, but also geothermal, tidal, wave…

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New Renewable Policy promises One Window Facility for Investors

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Finally Renewable Energy Policy 2019 (now it may be called as Renewable Policy 2020) has been finally approved by Council of Common Interest (CCI) of Pakistan after a long debate amongst stake holders including provinces. I can say with confidence that this time consultation was much at larger stage than before and policy almost satisfies the stake holders interests. Policy will be better and better if it is renewed and continuous basis. The policy has major features as under, 1. Policy has set very ambitious target of 20% by 2025…

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Taming the monster of higher electricity prices-II

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Power sector problems in Pakistan are acute, chronic, and have accumulated over decades. They are also multi-dimensional and not restricted to any one aspect of the sector. They all, however, have culminated into feeding the monster, “the higher-than-normal electricity prices”. There is no easy way out of the present quagmire. A carefully-crafted reform program will be needed to plug the holes in the short-run and a treatment spread over medium- to long-run to heal it back to health. An old English saying offers a short-term remedy: “If you find yourself…

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Unutilized capacity of government LNG Regasification Terminals to be auctioned

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ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to auction unutilized capacity of LNG Regasification Terminals not under government’s use on a short-term basis, Business Recorder reported on Wednesday. Currently two LNG Regasification Terminals are operational, one each under Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) and Pakistan LNG Terminals Limited (PLTL). While SSGCL terminal is operating near capacity, the PLTL terminal is under-utilized with an average utilization of only 51 percent in 2019-20. This excess and unutilized capacity is causing the tarrif to shoot up from the levelized tarrif which casued additional burden of…

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Govt starts working to set up AJK Disco

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ISLAMABAD: The government has initiated working on its plan to create Azad Jammu and Kashmir electricity distribution company (AJK Disco). However, the analogy of the AJK Disco will be as a bulk consumer that will purchase the electricity from three Discos of the country such as Iesco, Pesco and Gepco. AJK DISCO will go into the jurisdiction of Nepra and the regulator will determine the tariff and this is how the AJK electricity distribution will come under rules and regulations of Nepra. The government has initiated its working on making…

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