Staff Reporter
Islamabad
The Vice Chairman, National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) Bahadur Shah on Tuesday said that provision of clean, affordable and reliable electricity was vital for poverty reduction, sustainable development and economic growth.
“We urgently need a long-term solution to Pakistan’s energy needs and this can only be achieved through working together, he stated this in his opening speech at 2nd day of NEPRA Energy Week.
He said electricity played key role in the economy of the country. The developing nations were facing many problems due to the issues with energy security, reliability and affordability, he said.
Stressing the need for greater investment into clean energy, Bahadur Shah said the current economic crisis could be overpowered through exploration of renewable energy besides optimizing energy efficiency. Localized and low-cost renewable energy solutions, besides reduction in overall tariff for consumers, could also boost productivity and employment prospects, he said.
Underlining the need for energy storage technologies, Bahadur Shah expressed the hope that battery technology would be mature enough to be deployed at a commercial scale. It would also help reduce dependence on fossil fuel paving way for access to clean energy without any interruption, he said.
Chairman NEPRA Tauseef H Farooqi, Member Consumer Affairs NEPRA Rehmatullah Baloch and Member Licence Rafique A Shiekh were also present on the occasion.
