Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the government was working on a “comprehensive plan” for shifting to solar power in an effort to rid the country of costly electricity produced from oil and gas. Salman Shahbaz solar power company will be the main beneficiary indeed.
He expressed these remarks while speaking at the inauguration ceremony for the launch of the Green and Blue Lines of the Metro Bus Service in Islamabad.
“The electricity being produced in Pakistan is very costly,” he lamented.
Pakistanis have been bearing the brunt of electricity blackouts, which has led to protests — some violent — as the government has been unable to procure LNG, a key input in production, due to its high cost in international markets owing to the Russia-Ukraine war.
In his speech, PM Shehbaz went on to say that the government was working on a comprehensive plan to provide cheap solar power to areas where tube wells, government buildings, hospitals, schools, buildings and households are located in an effort to rid the country of costly electricity produced from oil and gas.
“Oil and gas worth Rs20 billion is imported every year,” he said, lamenting that past governments and rulers did nothing to improve Pakistan’s situation.
“So there is a meeting today in which we will make decisions regarding solar power and on how to provide solar panels, loans to common households to save them from costly power bills.”
He also lauded the scheme launched by his son, Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz, in the province for providing free electricity to domestic consumers using less than 100 units, terming it a “revolutionary step”.
He expressed the hope that the rest of the provinces would also take steps to benefit the people. He reiterated that a meeting on solar power would be held at a federal level.
