Minister ask power companies to provide maximum relief at Sehar and Iftar

Finance Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar chaired a high level meeting here at the Ministry of Finance on Thursday regarding energy-related matters. Minister for Water and Power, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Minister for Petroleum & Natural Resources, Mr. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Secretary to Prime Minister, Finance Secretary, Secretary Water & Power, Secretary EAD, Secretary Commerce and senior officials of Finance Division and Ministry of Water & Power participated in the meeting.

Secretary Water & Power apprised the meeting of the demand and supply situation of electricity in the country. He informed that instructions had been passed to all power companies to avoid unscheduled power shedding. He said that there has been excessive demand for electricity in recent days due to the hot temperatures across large parts of the country, but load management had been carried out prudently to facilitate the people as much as possible. He also briefed the meeting on the status of various ongoing power sector projects.

The Finance Minister said that the government is focused on resolving the issue of energy as a top priority. He said that additional electricity will be added to the national grid by early 2018 through completion of ongoing projects, which will help improve the energy situation and reduce load-shedding. He urged the relevant officials to ensure completion of the ongoing power projects according to the given timelines. He also urged the officials to provide relief to the general public by ensuring maximum provision of electricity during the holy month of Ramzan, especially at the time of Sehar and Iftar.