Energy Minister Khurram Dastgir has said that an inquiry report on power breakdown in southern part of country will likely to be released on Monday. In a statement, energy minister said that the power has been fully restored, adding that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif personally monitoring all matters. “A third-party audit of the inquiry report will be conducted,” minister said. “Electric feeders that were affected during floods have been restored,” he said. Power minister said that the fuel price adjustment has reduced by Rs 9.70 per unit in comparison to the month of June. “The power supply system has been restored in entire country,” he further said. Federal minister pointed out the government’s intention to generate electricity from cheaper coal from Thar Coalfield.

“We won’t have to pay in dollars for Thar Coal, it has been 10 times cheaper than the imported coal,” Dastgir said. “The price of electricity will go down with power generation from Thar’s coal. In a press conference he earlier said that Thar-coal-based electricity generation to jump to 1,320 MW in December this year with addition of 330 MW to the grid. The minister said that another 1,320 MW Thar Coal power project under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would start generation before the next summer which would help double electricity generation from indigenous coal to 2640 megawatt. Khurram Dastgir said the coal price at the global market has surged to $ 400 per ton, while Thar coal would be available at only $ 40 per ton. Thar coal-based power plants would also help reduce the cost of electricity, he added.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP