Karachi to receive more 1400 MW electricity by 2023: Minister

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Asad Umar has said Karachi city would receive additional 1400 MW electricity by 2023.

He was chairing a special meeting here to review the future electricity demand-supply outlook of the metropolis.

The meeting mulled over the possible steps to supply additional electricity to Karachi through the national grid to resolve the electricity crisis.

The meeting was informed that the electricity demand in Karachi was expected to go up to almost 4100 MW by 2023, and thus, would need an additional 1300 MW to meet the future requirements.

Minister for Power Omar Ayub Khan, Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Petroleum Nadeem Babar, SAPM on Mineral Development Shahzad Qasim, and officials from NEPRA, NTDC and K-Electric were present during the meeting.

The meeting was informed that to meet the future power necessities of Karachi, Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCOE) had given the requisite approvals for the supply of 500MW from the K2/K3 project.

The meeting was also briefed about the commissioning of new gas plants to re-establish the old thermal power plants running at low efficiency.

The meeting concluded that by FY 2023, 1400 MW of electricity could be supplied to the metropolis through the construction and up-gradation of grid stations at Karachi West and Bin Qasim.

Chairman CCOE, Asad Umar instructed the concerned officials to look into the commercial aspects of the projects and to eliminate any bottlenecks in the construction of new grid stations.

Umar assured all the stakeholders that the federal government would give full support to make sure the uninterrupted supply of electricity to the people of the metropolis.