Govt committed to tackle energy issue; adds 2000 MW generation capacity: PM   

    
ISLAMABAD, Oct 29 (APP): Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Friday reiterated the government’s resolve to tackle energy crises through concerted and sustained efforts. Addressing an International Conference on Conservation, Energy Efficiency and Solar here, he said, “After democratic government took over, we added around 2000 megawatts of generation capacity.”
2795 megawatts of capacity is likely to be added by December this year, he added.
The Prime Minister said the government has decided to construct 32 small and medium dams; eight in each province at a cost of Rs. 250 billion. Work on construction of six dams has already started.
The Council of Common Interest has already unanimously approved construction of Diamer Bhasha’s mega hydel project and its construction will start in the near future, he said adding to exploit Thar coal reserves, a number of projects under Thar Coal Energy Board have been initiated.
The Prime Minister said the government has prepared a plan with full blessings of all key stakeholders to double the generation capacity of the country.
“Our Government is also working on alternative energy resources like solar and wind energy. In this connection, Alternative Energy Board has been established which is working on a number of projects to exploit this potential,” he added.
 The Prime Minister said Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto added the issue of energy in the PPP manifesto along with subjects of education, employment, empowerment and environment.
“We all are well aware that the countries left behind in achieving Millennium Development Goals are those which have energy scarcity and Pakistan is one of them,” he added.
Gilani said at the time when the elected government was formed in March 2008, the yawning gap between supply and demand of electricity had brought the industrial wheel to standstill.
“People were forced to bear twelve hours to eighteen hours power outage in the rural areas while urban dwellers were experiencing more than six hours loadshedding every day,” he said adding this was the consequence of serious negligence of the previous regimes as not a single power generation unit had been installed since 1997.
He said, “We are well aware that the solution of the energy problems lies with our people and we have to mainly depend on our own people and resources to resolve this issue.”
The Prime Minister said the government has come up with short, medium and long term plans to overcome the problem of power outage in the country.
The energy conservation measures of the government led to reduction of peak demand of over 1000 megawatts resulting in mitigation of power crisis and ensuring uninterrupted power supply to industry and agriculture, he added.
Gilani said around seventy percent of the population has access to electricity.
“If on an average, each one of us saves one watt of electricity the result is 119 megawatts. There is a dire need to make people aware of the fact that “ONE Watt of Energy Saved - is - ONE Watt of Energy Produced”.
The Prime Minister said awareness needs to be spread throughout the country and necessary practical measures need to be taken by all consumers to conserve energy and save money.
He said an interactive service that offers useful information within the privacy of their own homes will allow them to reduce their energy costs while at the same time reduce the country’s energy supply gap.
In this connection, a scheme to set up Energy Information Centers will be launched and every energy consumer of gas and electricity will be provided a contact number to call regarding energy efficiency, he informed.
Their call will be answered by the call centre which will guide them how to conserve energy and reduce the bill, he added.
The Prime Minister said the objective of the centers within medium and large organizations will be to assess the greenness of energy consumption and power management, making professionals more wiser while purchasing electronic equipment.
Professionals will be given training and awareness that would address the conservation, energy efficiency and environmental issues such as disposal, preserving power, reducing carbon footprint and implementation on efficient infrastructure, he added.
Gilani said Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies intended to improve performance in metrics such as energy savings, water efficiency, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.
He said LEED certified building in Islamabad will create local awareness and build capacity to provide leadership in energy & environmental design.
The Green Building Institute (GBCI) Certification will be established with the help of renewable energy experts to manage the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Building Certification and the Professional Accreditation Processes, Gilani added.