Pakistan’s Electricity Outlook

On 5 April 2021, IMechE Pakistan Power Centre conducted a Webinar titled “Pakistan’s Electricity Outlook” as part of the “Learned Lecture Series”.

The Event was hosted by Mr. Uzair Jamil, who is an engineering professional with a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering and currently associated with HubCo. Honourable speaker Dr. Fiaz Chaudhry then started his discussion on Pakistan's Power Sector and its historical outlook which covered ill planned decisions that led to an imperfect fuel mix. This consequently had a negative impact on the country's economy. To carry the discussion forward, he brought to light the future capacity outlook which consisted of:

• Pakistan’s Electricity Outlook
• Demand Forecast
• Future Power Sector Landscape
• Perspective on Power Supply Chain
• Committed Capacity-mix
• Demand & Supply Projection

To conclude the discussion, the speaker recommended the following measures that need to be adopted in order to address current and future issues of Pakistan’s Power Sector including:

• Increasing base load through industry expansion thus utilizing excessive capacity of power and reducing cost of electricity
• Reduction of peak load and undesirable high seasonal variation
• Taking measures for ease of doing business including reducing time required for electricity connection, business incentives and encouraging industry growth
• Bringing transparency to tariff and rationalizing its cost
• Integrating system planning by reviewing existing power system capacity, forecasting future demand and assessing if the existing facilities can meeting the forecasted demands economically and reliably
• Investigated the need for new facilities and evaluate its economic, environmental and social impacts
• Utilizing resources efficiently where they are needed the most
• Adaptability to modern practices including renewable generation, energy efficiency programs etc.

The participants were provided opportunity to ask queries relevant to the topic. Dr. Fiaz responded to the questions and cleared any doubts and confusions regarding Pakistan’s power sector.

To conclude the event, the host called upon Dr. Mohammed Uneeb who gave his appreciative remarks for the key-note speaker and participants alike. He also appreciated the effort of the organizers for arranging Learned Lecture Series virtually as it is undoubtedly a challenging task. The host finally signed off after earnestly thanking the key-note speaker, all IMechE members, guests, and finally, the audience for participating in the session.