ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Friday said that the new energy policy would turn out to be “panacea of Pakistan's energy ills.”

“People and economy have suffered badly at the hands of crippling power crisis. It is high time that prudent and consistent policies were pursued to come out of this morass,” said the prime minister while chairing a high level meeting to give final touches to the new power policy here at the Prime Minister's Office in Islamabad.

The meeting not only discussed the broad contours of the new energy policy, which is expected to be revealed shortly by PM Sharif, but also analysed the minute details threadbare.

The finalised national energy policy is set to increase electricity generation to 26,800MW, reduce average electricity rates by more than 30 per cent, achieve zero loadshedding, encourage huge public and private investment and import electricity from India, Iran and Central Asian states in three years.

Those who attended the meeting include Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Pervez Rashid, Minister for Petroleum Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Special Advisor to PM Dr Musaddiq Malik, Shaukat Fayaz A. Tarin and other stakeholders from private and public sectors.