Latest reports indicate the Government was not sitting idly and instead it was working hard to address the chronic problems of the energy sector on a sustainable basis.
As the menace of load-shedding is again haunting the economy, the Government is working on a plan to generate about 5,000 MW of solar electricity for use during the daytime enabling the Government to close down the costly power generation of equal capacity through the thermal power plants.
It is really an ingenious plan as this would bring down the average power tariff by 20% as steadily increasing tariff is one of the major concerns of the consumers.
The cost of thermal generation would escalate further because of steep rise in the prices of petroleum products and an increase in the share of the solar electricity in the national energy mix would help bring down the overall tariff.
The Government seems to be quite serious as it is determined to achieve the target of 5,000 MW of solar electricity in just one and a half year, brightening prospects for a major relief for consumers in the foreseeable future.
Apart from the plan to establish solar power plants close to existing grids to take care of the issue of evacuation of electricity so generated, the Government has simultaneously launched two other projects – installation of solar tube wells on instalments and duty exemptions to promote use of solar panels for homes – which would go a long way in tackling the issue of load-shedding and the rising cost of thermal generation.
Hopefully, all the three projects would be implemented with due transparency to ensure they bring the latest and efficient technology to Pakistan.
