The United States (US) has assured to help Pakistan overcome its energy crisis.
The assurance came through a delegation of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in a meeting with Minister for Water and Power Khwaja Asif in Islamabad on Wednesday.
Members of the delegation said $853 million would be provided to power generation companies for capacity building.
They assured provision of funds for construction of hydel projects including Diamer Basha‚ Gomal Dam and Tarbela expansion projects.
The minister for water and power said the government was making serious efforts to overcome the electricity crisis.
The four-member delegation of USAID, lead by Jonathan M Conly, also discussed various matters of mutual cooperation in the power sector and technical assistance initiatives for power projects.
The minister, welcoming the delegation, appreciated US cooperation and assistance being extended to the power sector and said it would help improve efficiency of public sector power entities. Asif observed that construction of dams, initiation of hydel projects and coal energy generation projects are sustainable solutions to the energy crisis .He said it was the government’s priority to reduce electricity load shedding and increase power generation.
The government has planned to change the energy mix and to convert existing thermal power plants to run on imported coal. Run of river projects have also been identified, said Asif. He said reduction in line losses and eradication of power theft are also major targets for the ministry.
Discos would be given autonomy and a reforms process would continue, he added. Asif said the circular debt issue would also be resolved on a permanent basis. He further agreed to the proposal of making one Disco a ‘model’ for others.
USAID Country Head Jonathan Conley said US and Pakistan were together carrying out large-scale energy projects. These projects include renovating the power plant at the Tarbela Dam, modernising generators of the Mangla Dam, upgrading the Guddu, Jamshoro and Muzafargarh power plants and construction of Gomal Zam Dam and Satpara Dam, Kurram Tangi and Diamer Basha Dam projects.
Conley said 1,700 capacitors, 130 energy pumps and 4,900 meters of advanced metering system for real time data have been installed. These reforms are focused both on reducing technical losses on the power grid and on increasing receivables, he said.
A five year USAID funded plan worth $853 million s is already under progress which aims to improve the performance of Discos in terms of reduction in losses, improvement in revenues and customer services to bring them at par with best global practices, he added. He said the US is committed to working with Pakistan’s government towards a brighter future for the people of Pakistan.
