Home Latest News Government Unveils Conservation Plan to Mitigate Energy Crisis

Government Unveils Conservation Plan to Mitigate Energy Crisis

Five-day working week restored, fuel quota of government officials reduced as part of measures to cut fuel use

by Staff Report

Federal cabinet meeting on June 7, 2022. Photo courtesy PID

The Government of Pakistan on Tuesday unveiled a conservation plan to mitigate the prevailing energy crisis, with Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb stressing authorities will not ask the public to make any sacrifices while continuing to enjoy their own perks and privileges.

Addressing a press conference—alongside JUIF’s Asad Mahmood, PPP’s Qamar Zaman Kaira, MQM-P’s Aminul Haque—after a meeting of the federal cabinet, she said a proposal to reduce the fuel quota of government officials and cabinet members by 33 percent had not only been approved, but expanded to a 40 percent cut. “We realize we are asking the public to make sacrifices but want to be clear we will start from home,” she stressed.

Under the conservation plan approved by the federal cabinet, the 5-day working week has been restored, with Saturdays off in government offices. “That one day can save $386 million annually,” said the information minister. She said the cabinet had also approved a plan to switch off alternate street lights nationwide as part of conservation measures.

In addition, the cabinet approved a plan to expand car tune-up centers nationwide to improve the fuel efficiency of cars. “This could prove fuel efficiency by 40-50% with annual maintenance,” said Aurangzeb, adding that similar initiatives had been undertaken in Punjab during the last PMLN tenure. Similarly, she said, a plan to boost the repair and maintenance of tractors also under consideration.

The government, said the information minister, would launch a mass awareness campaign from tomorrow to encourage behavioral change for energy efficiency and conservation.

Two additional measures, said Aurangzeb, have been forwarded to relevant committees for further deliberation before any implementation. The first is a proposal of the Power Division to designate Friday for “work-from-home,” which the minister said would be examined by a committee to determine how it could be best implemented to ensure efficiency. The second is a proposal for early closure of commercial markets, which she said would be discussed at a meeting of the National Economic Council tomorrow (Wednesday). Once all provinces have provided their input, the government would announce a viable plan, she added.

Austerity measures

In addition to the conservation plan, said the minister, the cabinet had also approved a series of austerity measures. Among the initiatives approved is a ban on the purchase of all types of vehicles, barring utility vehicles such as school buses, solid waste management trucks and ambulances.

“The facility for treatment abroad of all government officials and cabinet members is also completely banned,” she said, adding that the new purchase of office equipment and office-use machinery was also banned, barring a few “essential” exceptions. “All official visits abroad are banned,” she said, noting that “obligatory” visits or very important bilateral visits would be permitted, but only after approval of a committee.

The government has also banned official lunches, dinners and high teas at all offices, she said, adding that consumption of utilities at the government level would also be reduced.

Load-shedding plan

Earlier, Aurangzeb summarized the prevailing electricity situation and detailed the government’s plan to reduce load-shedding over the coming month. She said the cabinet had been given a detailed briefing that total current demand was 28,400MW—with 2,800MW in losses so actual demand of 25,600MW—against generation of 21,200MW. “This gap needs to be filled,” she said, lamenting that no new power plants had been added to the system in the past four years.

“Power demand increases over time,” she explained, adding that three projects had been set to be operationalized this year to help tackle the shortfall but were not brought online by the previous government. Claiming that the incumbent government had produced more electricity in the past month as compared to the same period last year, she said the cabinet had approved a phased plan to reduce power outages.

According to the government’s plan, there would be load-shedding of 3.5 hours/day from June 6-15. This would be reduced to 3 hours/day from June 16-24, when Sahiwal Coal would be added to the system, bringing total generation up to 21,800MW. From June 25-29, she said, the K2 plant would be added to the system, bringing total generation to 22,840MW and reducing load-shedding to 2.5 hours/day. From June 30, she said, load-shedding would be reduced to 2 hours/day. “We are working to overcome the supply and demand gap,” she said, describing it as a “challenging” situation.

As part of the cabinet’s discussions, she said, it had been decided to work toward shifting to renewables to avoid reliance on imported fuel.

Local resources

Aurangzeb said the cabinet had also reviewed a report of the Election Commission of Pakistan and had decided to place it before Parliament for debate so its suggestions could be included in electoral reforms.

Adviser to the P.M. for Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan Qamar Zaman Kaira said the cabinet had acknowledged the reduced fiscal space and pledged to take difficult decisions in the national interest. “This is leadership,” he said, adding that due to the ongoing global surge in prices of all energy sources—particularly coal—the cabinet had decided to expedite utilization of local coal resources.

He also explained that targeted subsidies would continue. “These are intended to provide relief to the people most directly hit by increase in commodity prices,” he said, adding that we must now “take a little from the haves and pass it onto the have nots.”

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