By our correspondent

ISLAMABAD: The high-level energy review meeting held here on Tuesday with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in the chair decided to continue all the decisions for the energy conservation agreed upon in the first energy conference including two weekly holidays till October 31, 2010.

The meeting also decided that there will be no loadshedding during Sehar and Iftar time in the holy month of Ramazan, says an official press release. All the four provincial chief ministers attended the meeting.

The meeting also decided that strict implementation of conservation measures will be ensured at all levels. Earlier, all the chief ministers expressed their views on the decisions taken in the first energy conference and matters relating to their respective provinces.

The ministers for water and power and petroleum & natural resources briefed the conference on the present energy situation in the country.

Prime Minister Gilani in his opening remarks said the present government has added 1,708 MW to the national grid while additional 2,000 MW are to be added during the current year.

He appreciated the public and provincial governments’ cooperation in power conservation efforts. He thanked the chief ministers and their respective teams for demonstrating such support and commitment.

The prime minister referred to the Energy Summit held in April this year to evolve national consensus and mobilise public support for the future energy roadmap, particularly the conservation measures. He said the summit was a major success for the political leadership of the country.

For the first time ever, he said, national consensus was achieved on the national energy roadmap. Subsequently, the decisions were reviewed on 10th of May 2010 and it was decided to reinforce their implementation to ensure immediate relief in energy situation in the country.

The prime minister pointed out that there are still gaps in implementation of some conservation measures. Notwithstanding these gaps, he added, the impact of these measures has been impressive. He observed that the situation this year is better than last year. He pointed out that about 1,500 MW of electricity is reportedly being saved per day.

He said saving due to Saturday closure is reportedly 500 MW, which has provided the much-needed relief to industry, agriculture and household consumers. He further said that in financial terms, the government is saving about US $150 million in operating costs.

The prime minister informed the meeting that the government has evolved an energy roadmap to eliminate load shedding which will be presented to the Inter-Ministerial Committee of FoDP in October this year for funding and technical support of the international community.

He said the government is making strenuous efforts to bridge the gap between demand and supply, yet there exist several challenges, which have to be tackled with well thought out national approach.

The prime minister said the approval of Diamir Bhasha Dam by the Council of Common Interest is a milestone. He pointed out that the dam would provide 4,500 MW of power in addition to the much needed water storage capacity for agriculture.

He said the government has announced a Vision Statement for the power sector, which envisages addition of 20,000 MW by 2020. He said the new vision depends heavily on use of indigenous fuel resources like coal, hydel, gas and the renewable sources of energy. He hoped that the World Bank would come out strongly in support of this Vision with a higher financial outlay.

He informed the participants that the government has been given the understanding that the World Bank has agreed to provide support for coal-based power projects. He asked the ministry of water and power to provide necessary support for infrastructure development in Thar Coal area.

As regards the outstanding payment of dues against the provincial governments, it was decided that the ministerial committee consisting of ministers for petroleum and natural resources, water and power and finance would hold separate meetings with the chief ministers of the four provinces to resolve the matter urgently.