Load shedding in Pakistan will become a reference of history: Sharif

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said that the problem of load shedding in the country will soon be a "reference of history".

Presiding over a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Energy, Sharif said he was satisfied with the progress being made on energy-related projects.

Water and Power Secretary Younas Dagah was quoted by the Dawn, as saying that circular debt has been capped, recoveries were satisfactory and line losses reduced.

The committee was informed that all transmission and distribution lines projects were on track.

Last week, the government had told the Senate that circular debt (in the power sector) stood at Rs.328 billion. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sheikh Aftab Ahmed, speaking on behalf of Water and Power Minister Khawaja Asif, had acknowledged that the matter was a serious one, but said that the government had taken a number of steps to bring it under control.

According to an official handout issued by the Prime Minister's Office, the Cabinet Committee on Energy reviewed progress on ongoing power projects, including coal-fired power plants, hydel projects and LNG power plants.

The projects are expected to add considerable power to the national grid in 2017 and before March 2018 - the year set as the deadline to eliminate load shedding from the country.