Over 9000MW electricity to be added in national grid by 2017

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has directed to ensure completion of ongoing power projects on time.Chairing a meeting of cabinet committee on energy here on Monday, PM Nawaz said he will monitor the progress on power projects on a regular basis.He said significant addition of electricity to national grid will not only minimize load shedding but will also greatly contribute to economic and infrastructure development.Federal Secretary Water and Power briefed the meeting that 2015 remained the best year for power generation and recovery of arrears.’Peak generation of power was 17,000 MW last year.He said the line losses were reduced by 5.8 percent due to better monitoring and strategy to eliminate corruption and theft.The Prime Minister was informed that Rs 51 billion increase was noticed in recoveries while Rs 10 billion were saved due to decrease in the line losses.The meeting was informed that there are sufficient fuel stocks in the country.Facilities provided to new Independent Power Producers last year will help generate 12, 000 MW electricity.The meeting was informed that 9,090 megawatt additional electricity will be added to the grid by end of next year.