The federal government is planning to start the generation of 5,000 MWs of electricity through solar power in the next year and a half, aiming to reduce the average electricity tariff by 20%.

According to reports, senior officials at the Energy Ministry have confirmed the development and said that the electricity generated through solar power plants will be used during the daytime.

The induction of cheaper electricity will allow the government to phase out the costly 5,000 MWs of power generated through thermal power plants. It will also save the country billions of rupees on its annual import bill.

The officials added that the Ministry is also working tirelessly to formulate an implementation policy that will ensure the speedy construction of solar power plants.

These solar power plants will be constructed near the grids to avoid inflicting additional transmission costs to the national exchequer.

The officials said that the tariff for solar power is around 3.5 cents per unit. The Ministry plans to hold international competitive bidding (ICB) for solar projects. The ICB will help the government in signing competitive contracts for solar power plants in which the per-unit tariff will be lower than 3.5 cents.

Source: Pro Pakistan