{"id":1150,"date":"2025-03-20T18:04:32","date_gmt":"2025-03-20T18:04:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/2025\/03\/20\/energy-minister-criticises-miftah-ismail-over-misleading-economic-claims\/"},"modified":"2025-03-20T18:04:32","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T18:04:32","slug":"energy-minister-criticises-miftah-ismail-over-misleading-economic-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=1150","title":{"rendered":"Energy minister criticises Miftah Ismail over &#8216;misleading&#8217; economic claims"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>Energy Minister Awais Ahmad Leghari has dismissed former finance minister Miftah Ismail\u2019s recent remarks on energy policies as \u201cmisleading and baseless,\u201d accusing him of presenting incorrect statistics to misguide the public.<\/p>\n<p>Responding to Ismail\u2019s criticism, Leghari underscored that the government remains committed to promoting renewable energy as a key priority.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe government has encouraged the public to adopt solar energy. Following amendments to net metering regulations, solar energy costs have decreased. As a result, over 4,000 megawatts of solar-generated electricity have already been integrated into the national grid,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n<p>Looking ahead, the minister projected that within the next eight years, the capacity of solar net metering would surpass 12,000 megawatts. \u201cFuture solar net metering consumers will recover their investment within three to four years, making it a highly profitable venture,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Leghari clarified that existing net metering contracts would remain intact at their original rates. He also pointed out that several countries worldwide adjust net metering prices to prevent undue strain on national grids and economies.<\/p>\n<p>Addressing power sector agreements, he highlighted that the government has successfully renegotiated Independent Power Producer (IPP) contracts through mutual consensus.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese revisions have yielded financial benefits exceeding Rs1,500 billion, which will soon be passed on to the public through reduced electricity tariffs,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n<p>He\u00a0underscored Pakistan\u2019s progress in renewable energy, noting that over 55% of the national grid\u2019s power supply last year came from clean sources, including hydropower, solar, wind, and nuclear energy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the coming years, the share of clean and green energy will rise to 85%, which is a milestone we should take pride in,\u201d he remarked.<\/p>\n<p>Leghari also criticised Ismail\u2019s statements regarding sugar exports and shortages, asserting that the government had taken timely measures to stabilise the supply of sugar and wheat.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is unfortunate that a former finance minister is politicising economic challenges instead of acknowledging the steps taken to ensure market stability,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>He further noted that significant reforms have been introduced across the energy, agriculture, and economic sectors. \u201cThe power sector, in particular, has undergone the most reforms. Failing to recognise these achievements is highly regrettable,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Leghari condemned Ismail\u2019s remarks as \u201cirresponsible,\u201d urging him to refrain from making claims without supporting data.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBaseless statements without factual backing reflect poorly on someone who once held a key economic position. Instead of criticism for the sake of criticism, we welcome constructive suggestions that can contribute to the country\u2019s progress,\u201d he concluded.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Energy Minister Awais Ahmad Leghari has dismissed former finance minister Miftah Ismail\u2019s recent remarks on energy policies as \u201cmisleading and baseless,\u201d accusing him of presenting incorrect statistics to misguide the public. Responding to Ismail\u2019s criticism, Leghari underscored that the government remains committed to promoting renewable energy as a key priority. \u201cThe government has encouraged the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1150\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}