By Masood Sattar Khan
(Pakistan News & Features Services)
To ensure provision of low cost electricity to the masses, the government has decided to concentrate more on wind and solar energy sources, it was disclosed by the Federal Minister for Information, Shibili Faraz, while briefing the media after a weekly cabinet meeting that was presided over by Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad July 1.
The cabinet approved three hydro power projects including Kohala Hydro power project. The minister pointed out that it was the policy of the present government to generate low cost electricity, instead of going after expensive power.
In this regard the cabinet emphasized to specially encourage setting up solar and wind energy projects in the country and any obstacle in projects would be removed, the minister informed while sharing the decisions of the cabinet to the media.
"Through these steps foreign investment would be pour in the country and on the other hand it will encourage generation of low cost electricity,” he stressed.
“At the moment we have the capacity of generating 37,000 megawatts of electricity, including from some those plants at the cost Rs 24 a unit. After installation of renewal energy projects, the plants generating expensive electricity either by imported fuel or even coal would be displaced under a policy framework,” he maintained.
“The cabinet threadbare also deliberated on this subject and the Prime Minister stressed that the renewable energy should be promoted and investment in this regard should be encouraged. The Prime Minister also directed for the removal all bureaucratic obstacles in this regard,” he added.
