ISLAMABAD: Lesslie C. Viguerie, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Pakistan Affairs called on Federal Minister for Energy, Omar Ayub Khan at the Ministry of Energy this afternoon.
Omar Ayub gave an overview of Pakistan’s Energy Sector and the present government’s earnest endeavours in reforming the energy sector of the country.
The Minister said that the incumbent government had finalized Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan (IGCEP) 2047 which emphasised on increasing the share of indigenous sources while reducing the reliance on imported fuel. He further highlighted that IGCEP would forge massive addition of renewable capacity i.e 60% power generation from biomass, solar & wind; 30% from hydel, 10% each from thermal and nuclear power plants.
The Minister also highlighted that the Government would induct renewable energy-based power plants through open and competitive bidding in a transparent manner. He said that the government would also encourage the transfer of technology in these projects. He said that the government is focusing on manufacturing and assembly of wind turbines and solar panels in Pakistan.
He also apprised the State’s Deputy Assistant Secretary on endeavours of the current government to liberalise the energy market and said that by introducing competitive Trading Biletral Contract Market (CTBM); it would enhance the competition in power distribution and buying market, as well as IGCEP, would aim at power generation plan in the long term. He hoped that combining both strategies would bring improvement in the power sector.
Omar Ayub called for greater US investments in the energy sector including areas such as power generation, transmission and distribution, Artificial Intelligence, Renewable Energy, Hydel Energy and training opportunities.
Viguerie amiably appreciated the efforts of the Government of Pakistan to revolutionize the energy sector. He also believed that economic links between both the counties would strengthen the Pak-US relationship. At the conclusion, both sides agreed to step up cooperation in the energy sector.
