WASHINGTON: Pakistan can overcome the problem of loadshedding by next summer, US State Department’s energy coordinator David Goldwyn said on Thursday.

Mr Goldwyn told a briefing in Washington that Pakistan also could bring its energy rate at the cost recovery level by next April.

The US coordinator, who has been tasked by the Obama administration to help Pakistan overcome its energy crisis, has already visited the country twice. During both visits, he discussed various proposals for dealing with the crisis and also reviewed plans prepared by Pakistani experts.

‘There’s a will and political courage to do what they need to do and I think they can overcome this crisis,’ he told a briefing at Washington’s Foreign Press Centre.

Mr Goldwyn said that during his visits, Pakistani officials never requested US assistance to produce nuclear energy.

‘Pakistan did not raise it, so we did not discuss it,’ said Mr Goldwyn when asked if Islamabad is also seeking an arrangement with the US similar to that Washington has with India for supplying nuclear reactors.

‘The biggest problem in Pakistan is getting the price right,’ said the US official when asked what was preventing the country from attaining self-sufficiency in energy.

‘Everybody agrees that it is the biggest problem. The idea is to have financial stability.’

Mr Goldwyn said he hoped that by next April the electricity rate in Pakistan would be at the cost recovery rate and the poor would be subsidised through other means.

‘Everything flows from pricing, from the president and prime minister to the ministry levels, all agree with this.’

At the current price rate, he said, the difference between the price and cost was so large that no investors would come forward.

Mr Goldwyn noted that in 1994, Pakistan was exporting electricity. Over the years, the demand increased. The generation capacity did not, This led to huge blackouts. And there was no money in the system to deal with it.

‘Everybody realises what went wrong and has the political will to correct it,’ he said,
The US officials also advised Pakistan to improve the efficiency of its dams. Natural gas and liquefied gas would play a key role in helping Pakistan overcome its energy crisis, he added.

Renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, could also play crucial roles but to achieve all these Pakistan would have to fix the price, he said.Mr Goldwyn said that during his visits, he discussed the entire energy strategy with the Pakistanis and came back convinced that Pakistan had ‘very solid plans’ to meet its energy requirements.

If the plans were implemented Pakistan should be able to avoid blackouts and produce 2,500 MW by December 25 and another 2,600 MW by April.

‘We heard incredible strong commitments. If they make hard choices, they will restore stability to energy system,’ he said.

‘If it can create fiscal space, Pakistan can get energy from wind, water, coal and other alternative sources.’

The US, he noted, announced signature energy programmes in Islamabad last month after discussing the plans with Pakistani officials.

The programmes include increasing efficiency, capacity building and improving management.

Mr Goldwyn said that the Asian Development Bank was considering a $3 billion programme to improve Pakistan’s energy generation capacity. More than half of this assistance – about $1.6 billion – will be spent on dam extensions, new transmission lines and on efficiency improvement projects in major cities.

‘Improving efficiency is the real challenge,’ he warned. ‘There is no quick fix.’

Pakistan, he said, had the natural resources, commitment and expertise to improve its energy sector and it needed to improve efficiency.