ECOSF participated in a webinar on “Energy Investments and Planning" organized by PIDE

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Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) organized a webinar on Energy Investments & Planning on July 3, 2020. The discussion during the webinar centered on issues of energy system planning and the sustainable financing and investments in Pakistan.

The webinar was moderated by Dr. Nadeem ul Haque Vice Chancellor PIDE. Mr. Syed Akhtar Ali, Former Member (Energy) Planning Commission, Mr. Waqas Bin Najib Member (Energy) Planning Commission, and Ms. Afia Malik Senior Research Economist participated as the guest speakers. On behalf of ECOSF, President ECOSF Prof. Dr. Manzoor Hussain Soomro and Engr. Khalil Raza Scientific Officer ECOSF participated in the webinar.

Syed Akhtar Ali enumerated number of challenges that exists in the energy system planning. Due to lack of Integrated energy planning, Pakistan faces great challenges in determining the adequate energy requirements. It is because of these reasons that Pakistan is facing another crisis of over supply while previously it suffered due to the deficit crisis.

Mr. Waqas bin Najib underscored the importance of spatial planning to effectively determine the energy demand for the country. He further argued on policy direction whether one should chase peak demand due to air conditioning which could be economically inefficient for a resource strapped country like Pakistan. 

Earlier Ms. Afia Malik presented her research outcomes on energy investments and planning. She recommended that Integrated Energy Plan for Pakistan should be developed and adopted, which will be central to the sustainable development of the country.

In the end, discussion was held on various issues on attracting viable investments in energy sector and development of Integrated Energy Planning system for Pakistan.