Implementation of energy policy 2013 may overcome energy crisis

KARACHI: The government may overcome energy crisis by early 2018 if energy policy 2013 is implemented in letter and spirit, energy specialists said on Wednesday.
Most of the government’s measures lack far-sighted and all-round approach, which is critical for good governance and institutional growth and performance, they said, speaking at a seminar titled ‘Government’s Performance in Power Sector: A Mid-Term Review’.
The Institute of Policy Studies organised the seminar.
Ex-secretary Ashfaq Mahmood at Water and Power Ministry critically evaluated the government’s performance in comparison with its strategic framework in 2013 policy.
“While the government’s primary target was the elimination of load shedding, its policies were also inclusive of other important areas, such as power generation, distribution, theft control, revenue collection, transparency, accountability and customer care,” Mahmood said.
“While the government was somewhat successful in reducing load shedding, it cannot find a sustainable resolve unless it pays heed to other mentioned areas as well.”
He said the present government aimed at improving the performance of power generation companies to achieve the target of eliminating load-shedding by 2017.
A report, issued by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra), claimed that the efficiencies of generation plants in public sector declined 11 percent to 36 percent of their design efficiencies and their distribution losses were in the range of 9.47 percent to 33.40 percent of the electricity received. “None of the discos (distribution companies) met the target set by Nepra in 2013-14 while in case of Fesco, Gepco, Lesco and Iesco (Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Lahore and Islamabad) the losses even showed increase over the previous year in sharp contrast to Nepra’s requirement to reduce losses,” Mahmood said. He also lamented that the target of coal conversion is also not making much headway, whereas the solar park has started making some contribution but is expensive.
Mahmood lauded the new power generation policy 2015 and termed it as a step in the right direction.
Member (Energy) Syed Akhtar Ali defended the approach of the Planning Commission and claimed that the present government’s efforts were unprecedented and things were gradually improving.
Additional secretary Abu Bakar Madni at Sindh energy department claimed a paradigm shift in Sindh government’s policies to attract investment in the sector and to exploit the immense potential in the province through public-private partnership.