U.S.-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Energy (USPCAS-E)

Experts underscore the need for urgent energy and power sector reforms at NUST energy seminar

Islamabad, May 17, 2024 – NUST’s U.S.-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Energy (USPCAS-E) in collaboration with the NUST Institute of Policy Studies (NIPS) organized the national seminar on Pakistan’s energy sector issues, challenges, and the way forward on Thursday, May 16, 2024. Moderated by Dr Ashfaque Hasan Khan, DG NIPS, the seminar brought together leading energy experts and professionals, private sector representatives, and a large number of academics, scholars, researchers, and students.

The seminar’s special guest, Mission Director USAID Pakistan, Madam Veeraya Kate Somvongsiri, was welcomed on arrival by Rector NUST, Lt. General Javed Mahmood Bukhari (Retd). Speaking at the occasion, USAID Mission Director appreciated the role of NUST in nation-building and highlighted that the U.S.-Pakistan cooperation was focused on stronger economy, better governance, and healthier and smarter people. Dr. Osman Hasan, Pro-Rector, Academics, NUST, in his opening remarks, emphasized the need for exploring affordable, resilient, viable, pro-people, and sustainable pathways to national energy futures.

One of the seminar’s speakers, Dr. Fiaz Ahmed Chaudhry, Director, LUMS Energy Institute, underscored the need for energy efficiency and smart demand management to deal with the power shortfall as opposed to an exclusive focus on supply-side measures like increasing power generation capacity. Dr. Chaudhry proposed the establishment of a national energy security council or a national energy commission as the apex body for dealing comprehensively with energy and power sector challenges.

Talking about the active role that the private sector could play in the development of the hydropower potential of Pakistan, Mr. N. A. Zuberi, Senior Advisor – CSAIL, highlighted that the unique and distinctive features of 750 MW Karot Hydropower Project, as a major private-sector success story, included the project’s proximity to load center, closeness to national grid requiring only 3 km of transmission line, no significant environmental impacts, and elaborate community development initiatives like hospitals, schools, bridges, roads, and engineering scholarships for the project area.

Highlighting the need for energy and power sector reforms, Mr. Muhammad Ali, former Caretaker Federal Minister for Energy, Power and Petroleum, proposed that the energy ministry needed to focus on policy and regulatory functions and devolve all other powers. He stressed the privatization of power transmission and distribution companies along with the unbundling of Sui companies coupled with greater private access to all parts of the energy and power supply chain to make commercially-driven and market-based solutions possible. The former caretaker energy minister stressed the need for the implementation of a robust supervisory, control and data acquisition system in the energy sector consisting of well-head telemetric systems for gauging gas and crude oil reserves, on the one hand, and attracting investment for exploration and production of indigenous energy resources, on the other. The former minister also advocated the removal of all cross-subsidies and broadening the tax base to avoid burden on utilities to make things easy for common consumers.

In his closing remarks, Dr. Adeel Waqas, Principal, USPCAS-E, underscored NUST’s commitment to pursuing high-quality innovative research, technology development, and human capital formation in energy science and engineering for sustainable national development.