ISLAMABAD, Feb 26: The government plans to “mitigate the power crunch in the country” by using the unutilised gas reserves to produce electricity.

Dawn has learnt that the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) of the Planning Commission would seek approval of the plan to establish 10 gas-fired power plants at its meeting on Tuesday.

Several gas discoveries have remained unutilised for reasons of low reserves or ‘pipeline constraints’.

Experts, however, feel that public and private enterprises could use the gas profitably by setting up power plants at the sites.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed to provide substantial funding for gas-based thermal power plants. However, it wanted the government to first carry out a feasibility study with the officials of the Planning Commission’s infrastructure management unit to identify a list of prospective gas fields to avoid any controversy.

According to the ADB, the feasibility study would help in harnessing dormant gas reserves to enable Pakistan Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB) to also offer the project to private sector.

The project is expected to help in meeting the growing power demands and exploit additional indigenous resources as envisaged in the Medium Term Development Framework (MTDF).

Five small/medium size hydropower plants with a total capacity of about 525 MW have been initiated by Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) which are likely to be completed by 2009.

The feasibility study of Basha and Dassu Hydropower are at advanced stages. Recently the government has approved 969 MW Neelum Jhelum Hydropower project for implementation in public and private sector.

Officials concerned said that the national demand for electricity had been growing and the present peak power demand of the country was estimated to rise to 21,500 MW by 2009-10 and 27,000 MW by 2015.

The government, they said, was emphasising the maximum exploitation of indigenous resources. In the past the development of indigenous resources had been carried out pre-dominantly in the public sector. And to exploit the country’s indigenous resources productively, huge investments were needed, which the government alone could not afford.

Therefore, the involvement of investors in power sector had assumed great significance for which new feasibility studies would play an important role, the officials said.