Govt planning to set up new power plants to address power load-shedding: Leghari

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Energy Sardar Awais Leghari on Tuesday said that the government is planning to establish new power plants to address the issue of power load-shedding in the country.
Addressing the National Youth Convention, the minister said that despite expensive power generation, electricity is being provided to the consumers at subsidised rates.
Leghari said that due to the high cost of electricity, industries were shutting down but the government is now providing electricity to the industries at lower rates, bearing the additional costs.
He suggested that two hours of load-shedding could result in significant savings of up to Rs50 billion, the official news agency reported.
The minister said that earlier the cost of electricity for the consumers was Rs10 per unit, but it has increased due to the rise in the dollar’s value. The current average electricity cost stood at Rs44 per unit, he added.
“Within a month or two Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will give a good news to the public and industries,” he said. “Everyone will benefit from it.”