Islamabad: (Parliament Times) President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Sardar Masood Khan has said that it is our goal to make Azad Kashmir self-sufficient in energy.
The AJK president made these assertions while addressing concluding session of 9th Power Generation Conference here on Friday. ”Power generation in AJK directly helps Pakistan redress its energy deficit and contribute to its economic development. In the years to come, it will turn around Pakistan’s energy sector, rejuvenate its industry and help attract private investment.” he said. He told the audience that Azad Kashmir’s hydropower potential has been estimated at 8,000 MW in the medium term and 18,000 MW in the long term. ”This is neither implausible nor a pipe dream. Progress towards these goals is taking place”, he said
Sardar Masood Khan said that currently, Azad Kashmir produces roughly 1,500 MW electricity through hydropower. ”Mangla Dam’s installed capacity is 1,150 MW. The remaining power is being generated by small and micro dams. AJK’s total requirement for household, commercial and industrial usage is 400 MW. AJK thus makes a net contribution of 1,100 MW to Pakistan’s national grid, as of today.” he said
The President urged that six issues relating to energy projects in Azad should be addressed on priority basis: “One, water usage charges, currently being paid to Azad Kashmir at the rate of Rs. 0.15 /KWs, need to be increased to Rs. 1.10/KWs to bring them at par with KPK. Secondly he pointed out that the issue regarding payment to AJK Government of GST being charged by WAPDA for electricity should be resolved. Three, residual and emerging problems of displacement, such as relating to Mangla and new dams being built, should be addressed. Four, separate and substantial amounts should be allocated for upgrading and building a modern transmission system in Azad Kashmir. Five, agreements on new dams should be reached without delay to settle matters regarding tariff determination, power purchase agreements and sovereign guarantees, inasmuch as they relate to Azad Kashmir.Six, involve the private sector and leverage its strengths to supply electricity to domestic and industrial usersâ€.
Sardar Masood Khan told that Azad Kashmir Government had taken up these issues with the Government of Pakistan and expressed confidence that they would able to resolved soon. ”As Azad Kashmir accelerates its economic growth, there will be increased demand for energy from consumers, households, commercial entities and industry. ” he said
The President said that Azad Kashmir Government was pursuing a three pronged endeavour – comprising large, medium-sized and small dams is underway and will yield dividends. In the category of large dams, Neelum-Jhelum, with the capacity of 969 MW, will be on the national grid in February 2018. He said that work has started on two projects under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – Karot (720MW) and Kohala (1124 MW). Other projects in the pipeline are at Azad Pattan and Mahal, with the projected capacity of 640 MW and 590 MW respectively. Large projects identified for development in the future are at Chakhoti, Dundial,Ashkot, Sehra and Rajdhani, to name but a few. Talking about the medium sized projects, the President said that Patrind Hydropower Project at the Kunar River , with a capacity of 148 MW, will start running soon; and so would the Gulpur Project at the River Poonch, with a capacity of 102 MW. ”Many more would follow.” he said. Sardar Masood Khan said that there is also potential for development of alternate energy in Azad Kashmir, especially of solar power. With the introduction of reverse metering, households could generate solar energy for themselves and transmit surpluses to the national grid. ”Azad Kashmir has an ideal landscape for hybrid solar-wind systems,” he said. The President said that Azad Kashmir will start up an industrial zone under CPEC in Mirpur. It is an ambitious enterprise – one that would require assured supply of electricity round the clock. Again under CPEC, an expressway would be built from Mansehra to Muzaffarabad to Mirpur to link Azad Kashmir to CPEC. This too would require uninterrupted supply of electricity for the expressway and businesses around it. Despite this growth in Azad Kashmir’s cumulative demand for electricity, it would have large surpluses – ranging from 6,000 to 8,000 MW – that AJK would be able to contribute to Pakistan. Sardar Masood Khan also highlighted the efforts of AJK government to mitigate and address the social and environmental impact in the light of AJK laws, laws adapted from Pakistan, and international conventions, as well as guidelines provided by international agencies and multilateral development banks. The highest priority, he said is being given to land compensation, settlement of displaced persons, and environmental protection, with a special focus on cultural and ecological well-being of local communities and preservation of wildlife sanctuaries and biodiversity reserves.