FAISALABAD: State Minister for Water and Power Chaudhary Abid Sher Ali has said the government was fully committed to honour its promise to eliminate power loadshedding up to 2018.
Addressing the business community at the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI), he said the process of making electricity cheaper would start from the next year with the commissioning of Sahiwal Coal Power Plant.
He said as a result of hectic efforts, power production had been increased from 13,500 to 17,000 megawatts while in October 2018 another 8,000 to 10,000 megawatts of electricity will be added into system which will be sufficient to meet the country’s needs.
He said during the period of previous government, 14 to 16 hours loadshedding had crippled the life of a common man while the industrial sector was also protesting on roads. The previous government did not spend even a single penny on transmission system while the present government was not only constructing power plants but a transmission line from Mityari to Lahore will also be laid after biding of this project.
“The work will immediately start on it,” he said and added that under its second phase Mityari-Faisalabd transmission line was also under consideration. He said the Sahiwal Coal Power Plant would be completed in May-June the next year. Similarly, work was in progress on Thar Coal Power Plants. “These power plants will use indigenous coal to produce cheap electricity,” he added.
The minister said another three power projects with imported RLNG were also under construction in Bhikhi, Baloki and Hawaili Bahadur Shah. The projects will generate total 3,600 megawatts of electricity, he said and added transparency in all projects undertaken by his government.
He said approximately Rs 100 billion had been saved in these projects. He said Bhikhi power plant will be completed in April-May next while remaining two will become functional with the gap of two months each.
He said work on 1,300 megawatts Tarbaila-4 project was also in full swing which will help government to provide cheap electricity to the people. He also offered the FCCI to arrange a delegation to personally visit these projects which will play a major role in total elimination of loadshedding.
Responding to a question, the minister said all the 10 distribution companies were run experimentally on full load. There was no problem in the Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (FESCO) while problems identified during this process in other Discos were being resolved on war footing.
Abid Sher said his ministry had decided to upgrade WAPDA Engineering Academy Faisalabad to a full fledge university. Similarly, land was also being acquired for WAPDA University in Islamabad.
Regarding gas suspension for industrial sector of Punjab, the minister asked the industrialists to prepare a comprehensive agenda of their demand so that he could arrange their meeting with the concerned ministers.
Chief Executive Officer FESCO Rasheed Aslam told that on the special directive of the minister, two new grid stations of 40/40 megawatts were being constructed in Steam Power Station and Abdullahpur. These will help to lessen burden on the existing overloaded grid stations, he said and added that the system had been fully upgraded and was capable to provide electricity to consumers round-the-clock.
Earlier in his address of welcome, Engineer Saeed Sheikh, President FCCI, the government was fully concentrating on power generation as well as its transmission to the major load centers. He hoped that the government will successfully end loadshedding during its tenure.
Later, President FCCI Saeed Sheikh presented FCCI memento to State Minister Abid Sher Ali.