Pakistan prepares energy saving plan to ‘significantly’ reduce import bill

ISLAMABAD: The government has prepared an emergency energy saving plan which will “significantly” reduce the country’s import bill, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb announced on Thursday.

Pakistan, already in the throes of soaring inflation, has low foreign reserves barely enough to cover a month of imports. The country’s precarious economic condition has fueled speculation that the South Asian country may default on its international payments. Pakistan’s government, however, has repeatedly reassured investors the country would not default.

Soaring fuel prices in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a depreciating currency have also made matters worse for Pakistan. As demand outstrips generation in peak summer months, Pakistanis often have to brave hours-long power outages in the sweltering heat.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has repeatedly called for more investment in the country’s renewable energy sector, particularly solar energy. On Thursday, Aurangzeb revealed PM Sharif chaired a meeting to focus on Pakistan’s economic recovery and on the elimination of energy shortfall in the country.

“A national emergency plan to conserve energy has been prepared which will significantly reduce the import bill,” she wrote on Twitter. “It has been decided to take extraordinary measures in the current extraordinary situation.”

Aurangzeb said the plan would be presented in the next cabinet meeting for formal approval. She said the chief ministers of all four provinces would be invited to attend the meeting as well. Aurangzeb said the government wanted to implement its plan in all four provinces.

The minister said cracking down on electricity thieves and switching government and private buildings to solar energy was also part of the plan.

“The purpose of the emergency energy saving plan is to reduce pressure on the people and the economy as the price of fuel, including oil, continues to rise in the global market,” she added.

She called on all provinces to implement the National Conservation Plan together. “The prime minister has said that saving energy relates to Pakistan’s survival,” she said.

In another tweet, Aurangzeb said Pakistan’s import bill amounts to $29 billion annually, which amounted to over Rs 6 trillion.  

“It has been estimated that the energy saving plan would save billions of dollars annually, which amounts to over Rs262 billion,” she wrote.