Govt rules out use of imported fuel in future power plants

The government will not opt for any new power project run on expensive imported fuel in the future, Federal Minister for Power Khurram Dastgir declared on Wednesday. Speaking at a press conference here, he said that the foundations for the provision of inexpensive electricity under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif were being laid by the government, adding that a proposed solar energy project would be completed as soon as possible. He said that instead of relying on expensive imported fuel for generation of electricity, the government had decided to “optimally utilise indigenous sources of energy”, adding that “no new power project would be set up [in the country] based on imported fuel in future”. From now, all new power projects would be set up using local resources, such as wind, solar, hydel, nuclear and Thar coal, he said Shifting the entire power generation infrastructure to indigenous sources would not only help decrease the burden on the exchequer, but would also make electricity more affordable, he said.