ISLAMABAD: The Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif said hydel power generation will gradually increase after reopening of canals. He said the release of water from Tarbela and Mangla will bring six thousand megawatt of electricity to the system.
Khawaja Asif ruled out any power crisis due to shortage of oil. He said twelve cargoes have been booked through the Pakistan State Oil which will start arriving from January 27 or January 28. He said his ministry owes around 170 billion rupees to the PSO and we are trying to pay off the amount in installments.
Khawaja Asif said the federal government would not stop supplying addition power to K-Electric from the national grid, until a new agreement is reached with the company.
He said it is utmost effort of the government to ensure equitable load shedding from Karachi to Peshawar as per the directions of the Supreme Court. He pointed out the country is faced with the issue of power load shedding and it will take two to three years to address the issue. Load shedding is expected to end by summer of 2017.
To a question, the Minister clarified that the government is not increasing but decreasing the power tariff.