‘Insurers eye renewable energy in Pakistan’

KARACHI: Global and local insurance companies are looking to tap into Pakistan’s energy sector, which is expected to see billions of dollars of new investments in renewable and conventional power projects in the coming years, industry experts said on Tuesday.

At the Energy Summit: Fostering Growth, Collaboration, and Resilience in Pakistan's Energy Mix, speakers from various insurance firms and energy companies discussed the role of insurance in facilitating the development and sustainability of Pakistan’s energy mix, which aims to increase the share of clean and renewable sources to 60 percent by 2030.

Speakers included Ata Khatib, Chairman Lockton MENA; Dr. Jason Shirley, General Manager at ECP Energy and Chemical Professionals; Phil Pavey, Senior Underwriter at GCube Insurance Services; Pavel Chernoverkhskiy, Chief Underwriting Officer at Zurich Insurance Company; Khurram Ali Khan, CEO of Fidelity Insurance Brokers, along with other industry leaders representing Independent Power Producers (IPPs) within Pakistan, Oil and Gas regulators, and accomplished insurance experts.

According to a statement, there are various hydropower projects being developed in Pakistan, including Bunji (7,100 MW), Diamer Basha (4,500 MW) in Gilgit-Baltistan, Thakot (4,866 MW), and Dasu (4,320 MW) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

They said that the government developed a policy under three objectives, including universal access to energy, doubling the share of renewable energy, and doubling the rate of energy efficiency and conservation. In this regard, the target has been set as 60% of Pakistan's energy will be clean and renewable by 2030. It is noteworthy to mention here that Pakistan’s solar and wind power potential is over 40,000 megawatts. Also, 30 percent of vehicles will be electric by 2030.

They said that Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 7), which call for universal access to clean and sustainable energy, were indispensable for progress on all 17 SDGs as well as climate goals.

These projects are being developed from public funds and financing from different agencies. Moreover, various countries are planning to invest in Pakistan's energy sector, mainly China and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

They said that in recent years, these two countries announced mega projects in the energy sector. China will construct the largest civil nuclear power plant to produce 1,200 megawatts of electricity daily to the national grid at an estimated cost of at least $3.5 billion. The plant is known as Chashma-5 and will be completed by 2030. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia plans to install 500 megawatts of renewable energy projects worth $4.5 billion in Baluchistan and a $10 billion mega oil refinery in Gwadar.