Closure of LNG, oil-powered plants reasons behind power glitches: PM.

ISLAMABAD -- Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif Saturday said that country had the capacity of 35,000 MW of power generation, but due to the closure of different power-producing plants, run on gas and oil, different parts of the country were facing load shedding for the last few days.

Speaking in the National Assembly, the prime minister said that about 6,000 MW hydel power could be generated which was linked to the melting of glaciers and the availability of water.

But unfortunately, the CPEC coal-based plants and the new LNG plants that could produce about 5,000 MW power, including the one set up during 2019, with a capacity to generate 1250 MW, had been closed for the last four years. It could not produce the power during the previous government.

The new plants could not generate power due to the unavailability of gas or expensive oil. The ministries concerned apprised him that they could not finalize the import of LNG as no one in the previous government was ready to supervise such projects.

He said the prices of LNG import had surged manifold and now, it stood around 30-35 dollar per unit. During 2015-16, the previous government of PML-N had reached an agreement with Qatar for the import of LNG and if it had not been done, what would have happened now!

The prime minister also appreciated Amir of Qatar's personal intervention to provide LNG at discounted price.

The prime minister, however, assured that they have been trying to resolve the serious issues on priority basis. He informed...