ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has again announced early closure of markets and shopping centres as part of the energy conservation plan.
Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal said on Tuesday that the National Economic Council has approved the energy conservation plan under which commercial centres and shops would be closed by 8pm.
The minister did not specify when the regime will come into force.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad after NEC meeting, the minister said that matters pertaining to infrastructure and energy were discussed during the meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
He said that energy has become a big challenge for the country due to global rates.
He said that Saudi Arabia has slashed oil production by 1 million barrels, which poses a risk of oil rates rising to 100 dollars per barrel. If Pakistan continues to rely on oil and fossil fuel for its energy needs, its economy will remain vulnerable.
He said that to counter this problem, one of the steps that the government wanted to take pertained to energy conservation.
The minister recalled that the cabinet had pledged to enforce decisions made under a National Energy Conservation Plan (NECP) in January, where provincial representatives were not present. Therefore, he said, the cabinet took it up again at the council’s meeting, where provincial representatives were also present.
Iqbal hoped that now provincial governments would implement the energy conservation plan.
The energy conservation plan approved in January proposed the closure of markets at 8:30 pm, wedding halls at 10 pm, energy-efficient electronic appliances, and a 40% reduction in power consumption in public offices.
It had also suggested the imposition of additional duties on inefficient electric fans, the introduction of electric bikes, the use of light-emitting diode LED lights, and phasing out motorbikes that run on petrol and illuminate street lights only at 50% capacity.
Iqbal said that measures for energy conservation suggested under this plan, like switching to LED lights, upgrading geysers to make them more energy efficient, and closure of shops and commercial centers by 8 pm, could help the country save up to 1 billion dollars annually.
Energy conservation in developed countries
Speaking particularly about the early closure of shops, the minister said that even rich countries in Europe and the US could not “afford the luxury of keeping commercial places open till 10 pm or 11 pm”.
He said that another decision taken regarding the energy sector was to promote green energy.
He said that projects of wind, solar, and hydel energy would be promoted and the government would not launch any new project based on imported fuel,” he said.
