STAFF REPORT LHR: Energy experts have urged the government not to go for upfront high tariff power production from solar and wind and focus on coal, hydro and nuclear sources of energy since the countrys energy mix is already tilted towards high cost power generation.
“We are already producing over 35 percent of our power through high cost furnace oil,” said power sector expert Mohsin Syed while talking to media.
He said that the government needs to make up the power shortfall through low cost generation units so that the electricity tariff could be brought down.
He also said that solar and wind energy resources are attractive since they both do not need any fuel that has to be procured regularly. However, he added, the upfront cost of both wind and solar power projects is very high because of high project cost.
“When we have enough low cost power generation in the system, we can go systematically for solar and wind options; so that the higher cost is adjusted in the generally low tariff power production regime,” he said. Another power sector player Ghalib Atta advised the present regime to move with a well-devised plan to increase power production. The govt, he said, has announced power projects of over 15,000MW that it intends to complete during its tenure. He added if it becomes a reality, there would be no power shortage.