The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) construction of dams is the only way to generate electricity at economical rates which can reduce the cost of doing business for the business community. The biggest expenditure of the industrial sector is the energy bill which if reduced will result in improved production which will not only benefit masses but also trigger exports, it said.
High energy cost increases the cost of agricultural and industrial production which not only hit masses but also leave exports uncompetitive pushing the government to announce export packages which are seldom useful, said Dr. Murtaza Mughal, President PEW.
He said that increased cost of energy discourages local and foreign investors which reduce the chances of industrial expansion, job creation and increased revenue. Murtaza Mughal said that costly electricity is linked to high trade deficit forcing the government to borrow to repay loans which is very damaging for the economy.
Pakistan can never improve production, exports and stabilize its currency as long as 67 percent of the electricity generation comes from thermal sources while the share of hydel energy remains at 27 percent, he said. Pakistan is way back in utilizing the alternative energy resources while in India these sources contribute almost 15 percent to electricity generation. The neighbouring country has solar, wind and biomass generation installed capacity of over 50,000 megawatt which is the double of our entire installed capacity.
