Govt to overcome hydel generation shortfall by August: Tariq
By Mona Khan

ISLAMABAD—Minister for Water and Power Tariq Hamid on Thursday said the government will be able to overcome present shortfall in hydel generation by August this year.Talking to journalists here, the minister said a normal power of 6,400 MW in hydel will be produced by August after improving situation in major reservoirs.
He said now overall power shortfall of 1,800 MW has been recorded which will be addressed shortly. He said the present shortfall is 15% of total power demand. He said the development work on Mangla Dam Raising project will be completed by June this year with capacity of 2.9 MAF which will help more power generation in the country.
“If any new water reservoir establishes present shortfall will be covered so atleast two more dams are required at same time in wake of increasing power demand.”
He endorsed the report of World Bank which suggested that Pakistan has to invest around Rs. 60 billion (US$1 billion) per year in reservoirs and related infrastructure over the next five years.
“It is the top priority of the government to enhance power generation so that load-shedding could be eliminated at the earliest,” Tariq Hamid said.
He said the World Bank truly said in its report that the country will face severe power shortages of around 6,000 megawatts by 2010 and said additional 6,550 MW electricity would be generated by the end of 2010 through different projects. Earlier, addressing the foundation laying ceremony of NESPAK House here the minister directed that environmental aspect and energy conservation should be considered in the construction of the building.
He lauded the professional commitment of NESPAK towards ongoing projects of national importance.
The minister was informed that building comprises ground plus five-storey with two basement. Centrally air-conditioned an energy efficient building using state-of-the-art technology with covered area of 100,000 sq ft.
He said the development work on Mangla Dam Raising project will be completed by June this year with capacity of 2.9 MAF which will help more power generation in the country.