Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has commended the performance of the Punjab government in checking electricity theft while expressing the hope that other provinces would also follow suit to overcome the challenge, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Addressing a meeting in Islamabad on Monday to review the power sector’s performance, Prime Minister Shehbaz while emphasising the improvement of power transmission network, directed the energy ministry to maximize the utilization of renewable energy resources to reduce the country’s oil import bill by billions of dollars.

The prime minister maintained: “Ultimately, we have to move to renewable energy. The oil import worth billions of dollars can be controlled by using alternative resources like solar, wind and hydel. Make cold calculations and I believe, you will be the winner in the long term.”

Shehbaz said utilising renewable energy resources would also ensure riddance from the crude oil tanker mafia acting as parasites and eating up the national money. He pointed out that the country currently imports oil worth $27 billion to meet its power and transportation needs, a figure that could be significantly reduced by transitioning to alternative energy sources.

Shehbaz said that strengthening the country’s power transmission system required utmost efforts and investment otherwise the power production and investments in the sector would go down the drain unless the flaws in the transmission network were removed. He asked the energy ministry to engage world-class consultants to suggest the government ways forward to boost the country’s power transmission system.

He also mentioned the heavy rains affecting parts of the country and expressed condolences for the lives lost. He told the participants that he had asked the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) chairman to coordinate with the provinces and Provincial Disaster Management Authorities to dispatch relief items to the affected areas.