IEEEP Local Centre Hyderabad held its annual Excellence Awards Ceremony at Mehran University Jamshoro. Dr. Suhail Aftab Qureshi Central President, IEEEP was the Chief Guest. Engr. Salis Usman, Honorary Secretary General IEEEP and the country’s leading expert on IGCEP also delivered a presentation on the subject which was largely appreciated.
CONDOLENCE REFERENCE
Earlier condolence reference was held in memory of late engineers Engr. Maqbool Ahmed Khawaja, Engr. Habibullah Khilji, Engr. Abdul Rafay Khan, Engr. Malik Memon, Engr. Muzaffar Sheikh and Engr. Mohib Raza Sial. Fateha for the departed soul was led by Engr. Muhammad Sharif Ansari Ex- Provincial Minister.
In token of memory of the condolence reference, memorial shields were presented to the family representatives of passed-away legends.
ENGR. PROF. A A QURESHI MEMORIAL LIBRARY
To pay homage and tribute to late Engr. Prof. A A Qureshi, one of the pioneers of Sindh University Engineering College Jamshoro and the first Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering. It was decided that the IEEEP Local Centre Library may be named AA Qureshi Memorial Library.
A large number of Engineers from HESCO, NTDC, PTCL, MUET, and QUEST attended the event. Prominent among the participants were Engr. Abdul Rehman Shaikh Member GOB PEC, Engr. Wazir Hussian Shaikh GM PTCL, Engr. Farhan Wali GM PTCL, Engr. Tanveer Ahmed Shaikh, Engr. Asadullah Qureshi from FFC Wind Power, Engr. Muhammad Danis Ayub from FFC Wind Power, Engr. Irfan Karim Liaison Officer HESCO, Engr. Prof. Dr. Faheemullah Shaikh Associate Professor MUET, Engr. Prof. Dr. Mukhtiar Mahar, Engr. Irfan Ahmed Member BOD HESCO, Engr. Prof. Dr. Faisal Karim Telecommunication MUET.
42 Engineers from MUET, QUEST, HESCO, NTDC, PTCL, GENCO-I, and Wind Power Projects were awarded the prestigious Excellence Awards.
WELCOME ADDRESS
Engr. Prof. Dr. Bhawani Shankar Chowdhry Vice Chairman IEEEP Local Centre in his welcome address paid glowing tribute to Engr. Prof. Dr. M A Uqaili Chairman, IEEEP Local Centre for his unflinching support and initiatives to establish the Local Centre office in Mehran University and for his continued guidance to hold regular events like meetings, Seminars, Launching of books, and Condolence References. He warmly welcomed the President, IEEEP, and Honorary Secretary General to take their timeout and specially come to Mehran University to participate in the event and meet the members of IEEEP Local Centre and Engineers.
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS
Engr. Prof. Dr. M.A Uquaili Chairman, IEEEP Local Centre In his Presidential Address welcomed the participants and thanked Engr. Prof. Dr. Suhail Aftab Qureshi President IEEEP and Engr. Salis Usman Secretary General IEEEP to grace the occasion as Chief Guest and Guest Speaker respectively. He said that the EEEP Local Center is doing everything possible to support the institution by holding regular meetings, raising membership, and arranging seminars.
He expressed that in the developed world these institutions are developing design, standards, and specifications and they give solutions of different problems encountered by the professionals in the field.
He invited HESCO, NTDC, PTCL, GENCOs, SEPCO, and Wind Power Projects to extend their support and to actively participate in the activities of the IEEEP Local Centre. He also recalled the memory of passed away Engineers for whom condolence reference was held. He also lauded the holding of the CPD Workshop by Engr. Salis Usman.
CHIEF GUEST’s ADDRESS
Engr. Dr. Prof. Suhail Aftab Qureshi President, IEEEP in his speech lauded the efforts of Engr. Prof. Dr. M A Uqaili, Engr. Prof. Dr. BS Chowdhry and Engr. Prof. Dr. Abdul Sattar Larik in their noble campaign to raise the level of Local Centre to reach a formidable position.
He informed the members that apart from technical activities IEEEP’s main effective role is to foster unity and brotherhood amongst the engineers from all over the country. He also appreciated Engr. Salis Usman Honorary Secretary General to conduct the very informative workshop on “Reshaping the Generation Mix of Pakistan- Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan” (IGCEP). He also appreciated the institutionalization of the Annual Excellence Awards. He extended every possible support to Local Centre Hyderabad on behalf of the IEEEP Central Council.
OTHER DISTINGUISHED SPEAKERS
Engr. Noor Ahmed Soomro CEO HESCO and Engr. Syed Tanveer Ahmed Jafri CEO GENCO-I, the Guests of Honor, and Engr. Abdul Rehman Shaikh Member of GoB PEC also spoke on the occasion.
CLOSING CEREMONY
Engr. Prof. Dr. Tauha Hussain Ali Vice Chancellor MUET was the Honored Guest for the closing ceremony.
Engr. Prof. Dr. Tauha Hussain Ali Vice Chancellor Mehran University of Engineering and Technology distributed the shields and excellence awards certificate to the guests and other engineers. He appreciated the efforts of the IEEEP Local Centre to hold such purposeful events and hoped that the IEEEP Local Centre will continue to organize these events which will go a long way to promote the cause of the profession.
In the end Prof. Dr. Abdul Sattar Larik General Secretary IEEEP Local Centre Hyderabad paid vote of thanks to Engr. Prof. Dr. MA Uqaili, Engr. Prof. Dr. Tauha Hussain Ali, Engr. Prof. Dr. BS Chowdhry, Engr. Prof. Dr. Suhail Aftab Qureshi President IEEEP and Engr. Salis Usman Secretary General IEEEP, and other distinguished guests for their patronage and support, which made the event successful.

Notwithstanding affiliations, the political change in Islamabad means a lot for engineers and their majority across Pakistan seems to have attached expectations from the new government led by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
There are three major reasons which lead engineers to believe that there would be a kind of improvement in the engineering industry and the issues concerning the engineering community in Pakistan.
On top is the appointment of the premier whose track record viz-a-viz development in Punjab speaks volumes about his success. He leads development initiatives and possesses credibility in the eyes of donors and governments across the world. Thus the engineers hope the development activity would get impetus in the country and in return the engineers will have more employment opportunities.
But more important is the fact that the engineering institutions and thus the engineers will have a much bigger advantage in terms of access to the people in corridors of power. It will facilitate the process to bring in light the major issues of engineers and industry in Pakistan.
The second reason will be Ahsan Iqbal as head of Planning and Development. Iqbal, an engineer by education has been part of the whole range of engineering activity in Pakistan and his role in Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) and other institutions is no secret. Interestingly enough, the issue of the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) which has created a lot of rumpus between engineers through PEC and contractors led by Arshad Dad is now on his table.
Lastly, since Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is the coalition partner in the government, Engr. Mukhtiar Shaikh and Engr Qadir Shah leading National Engineers—the coalition partners of PEC Chairman Najeeb Haroon—will have better access too. It is likely that all three groups such as National Engineers, Engr. Najeeb Haroon and the Engineers Pakistan led by former PEC Chairman Engr. Jawed Salim may coordinate on issues concerning engineers and industry in the country.
There are several issues that need to be taken seriously. For instance, the new government should attach priority to the engineering industry for import substitution and this has to be reflected at the policy level.
PEC and other engineering institutions have a huge role in this respect and they are supposed to play it in real terms through their inputs and active lobbying and advocacy initiatives.
Engineering departments in the center and provincial governments need to be led by engineers, not by bureaucrats. The engineering community has to make efforts to convince the governments as they may have a conducive atmosphere for its supporters in the new government.Also, the issues relating to service structure for engineers and employment for fresh engineers should be pursued, as they were part of the manifestos of all engineering groups which contest PEC elections.n

The British High Commissioner to Pakistan, Dr. Christian Turner visited the MG JW Automobile Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd facility in Lahore. He said the future is electric and it will help reduce carbon emissions.
The High Commissioner had a detailed interaction with the company’s management and visited the state-of-the-art MG assembly plant, and got to test drive the all-electric Marvel R and HS PHEV.
Congratulating the company, Turner said: It is a wonderful showcase of the British Automotive Brand in Pakistan. The future is electric and MG will be cutting down carbon emissions with electric vehicles for cleaner and greener Pakistan.”
Last year, the Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Nong Rong had also visited the setup and had a very positive sentiment for the plant.
MG Motor Pakistan has delivered more than 10,000 vehicles, launched 7 state-of-the-art dealerships with MG Care Centres, and introduced world-class latest models in Pakistan, setting the tone for the whole industry. MG vehicles are one of the most advanced, equipped, and safe vehicles on Pakistani roads and are considered a standard in their respective categories.
MG with its British legacy has always been a brand of ingenuity and innovation. The brand entered the Pakistani market under the flag of SAIC Motor International, primarily launching in the luxury category. The first HS CKD variant line-off was held on 28th May 2021 and after successful testing and trials, is ready to launch locally assembled, world-class vehicles in the country.
MG envisions a cleaner and technologically advanced future for Pakistan. The dream is to make Pakistan a part of the global supply chain and soon be able to export Pakistan-made MG vehicles across the globe. As the company is ready to start local production and very soon, vehicles “Made in Pakistan”, will be dominating the roads worldwide. LAHORE: ERMD

While Pakistan has vowed to generate more renewable energy and curb fossil fuel-based power on its decarbonization pathway, energy experts believe the South Asian country needs better policy design in its fight against climate change.
The Pakistani government, when updating its nationally determined contributions (NDCs), committed to reducing GHG emissions by up to 50% from the business-as-usual (BAU) level by 2030. This compares with its previous target of a 20% cut in 2016.
To reach the new goal, Pakistan said 60% of the electricity in the country will be generated from renewable sources like solar, wind, and hydropower by 2030, compared with 32.8% in the nine months to 30 April 2021 (the latest official figures available).
The ambition was shown after nonprofit German watch ranked Pakistan as the eighth most vulnerable country to extreme weather events out of 180.
Despite the seemly aggressive targets, some question their robustness under close scrutiny.
According to the government’s BAU scenario, Pakistan’s emissions will grow from 405 million metric tons (mt) of CO2e in 2016 to 1.6 billion mt in 2030. So, a 50% cut from the BAU level in 2030 will still lead to much higher emissions in absolute terms.
While the country stopped approving new coal-fired power plants in December 2020, construction of those already with permits continues: Global Energy Monitor (GEM) data shows that capacity total was 1.29 GW as of July 2021.
“As more coal-based power generation comes online, the emissions profile is more likely to increase than decrease,” Haneea Isaad, a research associate at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), told Net-Zero Business Daily.
IHS Markit expects Pakistan’s emissions to be less than 500 million mt of CO2e by 2030. This brings up the other problem with the BAU scenario being used by the government: it sets a very high assumed emissions level in 2030 of 1.6 billion mt, which makes achieving a promised 50% cut relatively easy. IHS Markit’s number suggests the country can easily achieve its climate target, but IHS Markit Senior Sustainability Analyst Mohd. Sahil Ali said the apparent success results from the government’s assumption of a compound annual growth rate of emissions exceeding 10%. The historical rate is 3%-4%.
“From our perspective, it is not a question of whether Pakistan will achieve its NDCs, but whether the baselines have been constructed realistically,” Ali said.
Questions on proposed power mix
Moreover, there are doubts over Pakistan’s decision to favor hydroelectric energy over solar and wind power in its renewable expansion.
In the latest Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan (IGCEP) for 2021-2030, state-owned National Transmission and Despatch Co. said its base case involves increasing installed hydropower capacity to 23 GW by 2030 from 9.87 GW at the end of April 2021. Its share of total capacity would rise to 43.2% from 26.5%.
But IHS Markit only expects about 16 GW of hydroelectric capacity to be in place by 2030, given historical delays in construction and the fact that financing for a significant chunk of the planned expansion has not been secured.
Taking that into account, IHS Markit expects the share of all renewables in the capacity installations to be in the range of 40-50%, rather that the government’s stated goal of 60-65%.
Meanwhile, the IGCEP sees installed solar power capacity jumping to 1.96 GW from 400 GW and wind to 3.8 GW from 1.24 GW in the same timespan. The relatively small expansions come despite many industry participants—including the National Transmission and Despatch Co.—calling solar and wind the cheapest energy sources.
Aditya Lolla, a senior electricity policy analyst at thinktank Ember, said the Pakistani government lacks “holistic planning” in its clean energy transition. “There seems to be a reluctance to embrace variable renewable energy like wind and solar in its long-term capacity expansion planning. A well-rounded national policy is now especially pertinent,” he said.
That well-rounded strategy includes a need for substantial investment in the power grid, IEEFA’s Isaad suggested.
“Pakistan’s grid in its current state isn’t flexible at all and will require heavy upgrades and reinforcements to accommodate higher penetrations of variable renewable energy,” she said.
Challenges in coal phaseout
Another policy has made Pakistan’s utility sector even more difficult to decarbonize. Before the moratorium on coal power in December 2020, the government had been expanding coal-fired generation capacity to take advantage of cheap, abundant, locally-produced lignite.
GEM data shows coal-fired capacity in Pakistan jumped to 5.09 GW in 2020 from 150 MW in 2015. Coal’s share of the electricity generation mix rose to 20.2% from 1.17% in the period, according to Ember, even though the total share of fossil fuels fell to 55.9% from 61.3% as the country’s oil- and gas-fired plants didn’t operate at high utilization rates.
Isaad described the “resource nationalism” as one of the greatest challenges in cutting emissions from Pakistani power plants, saying government planners have the “indigenization of the generation mix” high on their agenda.
“They’re pushing for domestic coal as the cheapest, most economical alternative to imported furnace oil and re-gasified LNG,” she added.
Moreover, Pakistan’s debt-ridden electricity distributors have inked long-term, take-or-pay power purchase agreements with fossil fuel-fired plants.
“Heavy reliance on [fossil fuel-fired] generation has created a high carbon lock-in within Pakistan’s grid and is making the transition difficult,” Lolla said. “While the country did reduce oil- and gas-based generation since 2017, it was replaced by power from new coal-fired power plants.”
“As a result, the country is now locked-in with coal as its young coal-fired power plants may have to run for about 15 to 20 years to pay back their debts,” he added.
To achieve a 50% emissions cut by 2030, the Pakistani government estimated that $101 billion in international grants would be required by 2030 and another $65 billion by 2040 to increase renewable deployment and phase out coal. Without the funding, the country can only manage a 15% reduction, according to its NDCs.
Energy transition financing
As part of its fund-raising efforts, Pakistan recently expressed interest in joining the Asian Development Bank’s Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM), following in the footsteps of Indonesia and the Philippines.
Based on the ETM’s design, two multi-billion-dollar funds will be established to accelerate the early retirement of fossil fuel-based power generators and expand renewable capacity, respectively. The Manila-based development bank has provided a technical assistance grant of $300,000 to Pakistan for a pre-feasibility study, which is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2022.
Sunil Dahiya, an analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, suggested the government needs to create a better environment for low-carbon investment even with the bank’s backing.
“The ETM and favorable environmental, climate, and economic factors for renewable development will put Pakistan on track to the energy transition. However, it would still require aggressive local support from the Pakistan government,” Dahiya said.
While Indonesia and the Philippines are seeking to phase out coal with the ETM, the mechanism has been expanded to cover diesel- and furnace oil-fired power plants in Pakistan, the bank confirmed.
With nearly all of the country’s coal-fired capacity having come online since 2017, analysts say Pakistan will likely target its petroleum-based plants for retirement. IHS Markit estimates oil accounted for 14.2% of the country’s capacity mix and contributed 8.1% to the generation mix in fiscal 2021, but many oil-fired plants are 20 or more years old.
According to IEEFA estimates, old fossil fuel-based plants with a total capacity of 6.5 GW are scheduled to retire by 2030, of which 5.9 GW use furnace fuel.
As the ETM is created to buy petroleum power generators and shutter them early, Isaad believes its decarbonization effects would be stronger if Pakistan focused on the plants not already in those retirement plans.
“The question of additionality is very important,” she said. “If a power plant is to retire naturally within five years, it doesn’t make any sense for it to be a part of the ETM. A facility retiring in 10 years or more could be targeted if the ETM proposes to retire it in five to seven years.”
“For Pakistan, the regulators and managers of the ETM will have to find the sweet spot, where plants with a good 10-15 years of remaining operations are targeted, have written off most of their debt, and have higher costs of operations,” she added. —

As a large developing country, Pakistan faces a wide range of problems, especially related to overcoming poverty and improving the health, education, and employment opportunities for low-income groups. The energy sector is critical to progress in addressing these problems, but inadequate investment, unreliable energy supplies, weak governance, and poor fiscal management of the sector have been major constraints. The problem of creating a viable energy sector that can mobilize the needed investments and support sustainable economic growth is a fundamental challenge. This section examines the position of Pakistan with respect to five common challenges affecting power-sector transformation, as identified in the initial strategy report, namely: (1) meeting growing energy demands and moving to a cleaner energy mix; (2) improving governance and transparency; (3) increasing affordability and access; (4) addressing environmental degradation and climate change; and (5) achieving power-sector financial viability.
Meeting growing energy demand and moving to a cleaner energy mix
Pakistan’s economy over the past five years has been growing at more than 4 percent and reached 5.2 percent in 2018. Although primary energy consumption in 2018 grew by 5 percent, primary energy growth has historically lagged behind economic growth. Between 2007 and 2017, the average rate of primary energy growth was 2.7 percent, compared with a 3.8 percent average annual increase in GDP.
Pakistan depends principally on oil and gas for over 70 percent of its primary energy and has become increasingly dependent on oil and gas imports. Although Pakistan has some domestic crude oil production (about 90 thousand barrels per day in 2018), this only accounts for 18 percent of total oil consumption. The growing oil-import bill puts great pressure on budgets and reserves. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates Pakistan’s 2017-18 oil imports at US$14.6 billion, or about a quarter of total estimated current account imports, and 2019-20 imports are expected to be at least US$17 billion. The depreciation of the Pakistan rupee in 2018 added an additional burden to the import bill. Pakistan has had to turn to gas imports as domestic gas consumption has grown (by 7 percent in 2018) and outpaced domestic production. Pakistan’s indigenous gas production has stagnated at about 34 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2018, accounting for 80 percent of domestic consumption.
Expansion of electricity generation to meet rising demand and reduce the endemic power blackouts and outages has been a high priority of the Pakistan government. Installed generation capacity has greatly expanded from 23,337 megawatts (MW) in 2014 to 33,836 MW in February 2019, and electricity generation increased by 11 percent from 2017 to 2018. Pakistan continues to have a gap, however, of several thousand megawatts in the non-summer months when hydropower output is lower and electricity demand is high
Although natural gas-fired generation provides the largest share of electricity output, Pakistan has significant hydropower production, some nuclear power, and increasing renewable energy generation. We examine more closely the transformation and diversification challenge in the strategic priorities section. — ERMD