PM Abbasi launches power consumer friendly net-metering framework
Published January 03, 2018
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Wednesday launched power consumer friendly net-metering framework, under which power consumers would be able to generate their own energy and sell the surplus to the national grid.
Addressing a ceremony here earlier today, Prime Minister Abbasi said the country stands at the threshold of providing cheap, efficient, reliable and sustainable electricity to consumers.
The premier noted that the PML-N government has fulfilled its obligation of ending severe power load shedding and added 10,000 MWs of reliable, sustainable and cheap electricity to the national grid.
Before 2013, the governments were only able to generate 20,000 MWs of electricity in 66 years, but during a period of only four years, the PML-N government added 10,000 MWs of electricity, he said.
He said other projects to add another 15,000 MWs of electricity were in the pipeline and this generation capacity would be enough to meet the needs of the country till the year 2030.
Prime Minister Abbasi said the streamlined system of net metering would provide incentives to the public to not only generate solar energy for its personal use, but also sell it to the government and get good returns.
Pakistan is now utilising a healthier diversified energy mix of hydel, nuclear, coal, LNG besides solar and wind generation, he pointed out.
The PM added that today the quantum of load shedding has drastically reduced as the demand and supply gap has diminished, and the only issues were related to transmission and distribution constraints which were being addressed.
"Now our challenge is to make the system more efficient, reliable and cheap," he remarked.
Minister for Power Division Sardar Awais Leghari said on the occasion that solar energy-based net metering has become an economical and financially viable option for average energy consumers, even at household and commercial levels.
Later today, the Prime Minister will chair a meeting of the federal cabinet to discuss strategy in wake of US President Donald Trump's tweet, in which the US president accused Pakistan of harbouring terrorists and threatened to cut off its aid.
The meeting will also discuss the national as well as regional security situation, and the prevailing economic and social affairs of the country.
