Professor Dr Khalid Rafique, a specialist in policy research, on Thursday said that lack of proper policy on research and management was the main cause of the energy crisis in Pakistan. At a seminar titled “Power Energy Crisis in Pakistan” organised by the IEEE chapter of the National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences (NU-FAST), Dr Khalid said, “The power industry structure has major inefficiencies in the transmission and distribution sectors and the present generation mix of electricity which is heavily dependant on oil and gas.”
Professor Dr Muhammad Saeed presided over the session. He emphasised the importance of the utilisation of alternative energy resources like wind and solar energy, and a need for better policy options for a smarter power generation mix.
He said that Pakistan’s per capita consumption of electricity at 47 watts/person was far below the world’s average consumption of 313 watts/person and this issue needed to be addressed at priority for a better future for the country.
Dr Khalid said that policy research was a major of concern for the country and there was a dire need for encouraging an atmosphere of thought provoking discussions at the university level to help students understand real issues possible solutions for specific sectors. “Discussion of diversified fields will also encourage an atmosphere of exploration and research among students and pave the way for new inventions”, he added.
He said short term and long term policy decisions needed to be reviewed regularly to ensure stable and affordable electricity to consumers.
