The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) mulls to organize a high-level Energy Conference, bringing together stakeholders from the private sector, government departments, academia, and research institutions. The purpose of the conference will be to develop a viable and practical action plan to address the ongoing energy crisis, with recommendations to be presented to the government for implementation.

This initiative was agreed upon during discussions between Nasir Mansoor Qureshi, President of ICCI, and Dr. Fiaz A. Chaudhry, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Transmission and Dispatch Company Ltd. (NTDC) and Senior Advisor at LUMS Energy Institute, during Dr. Chaudhry's visit to the Chamber House. The discussions focused on the country's severe power crisis, with consensus emerging that misgovernance and policy failures have created a massive circular debt, which has consumed trillions in budgetary resources, yet remains unresolved in both the power and gas sectors.

The discussions also covered critical issues such as overhauling governance, building institutional capacity, promoting energy conservation, utilizing indigenous resources, improving energy efficiency, addressing price anomalies, and exploring deregulation and privatization in the energy sector. The participants emphasized the need for a comprehensive policy to meet electricity demand, a solution essential to resolving the crisis.

There was unanimous agreement that the energy sector has the potential to transform from being the country's greatest economic burden into a driver of financial security and prosperity. However, achieving this transformation will require strong political will and commitment to energy sector reforms, despite inevitable resistance from entrenched interests.

The stakeholders also agreed that the upcoming conference would focus on analyzing the national impact of the energy crisis, including demand and supply issues, measures to meet demand, and the role of pricing in the solution. Dr. Chaudhry also shared insights on energy-saving techniques, including modern construction methods.

Earlier, ICCI President Nasir Mansoor Qureshi briefed Dr. Chaudhry on the major initiatives undertaken by the Chamber and the projects in the pipeline to promote the country's economic well-being and improve the ease of doing business.

Adnan Mukhtar, Convener of the HEC Sub-Committee at ICCI, was also present during the discussions.