Islamabad: Pakistan will start negotiations with Iran this month on purchasing 1,000 MW of electricity to overcome a power shortage, Water and Power Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said today.

The Iranian energy minister will visit Pakistan on May 13 to discuss technicalities and other aspects of selling electricity to Pakistan, Ashraf told reporters here after attending an energy conservation walk.

The issue was also discussed during the Iranian President's recent visit to Pakistan and it was agreed that the negotiations will be completed as soon as possible.

"We are also planning to get electricity from the Central Asian states through Afghanistan to overcome the increasing gap between demand and supply of power," he said.

Several other proposals are being considered to tackle the energy crisis, he said.

Earlier, addressing participants in the conservation walk, Ashraf said the government will be in a position to control load shedding within three years.

The government has prepared long and short term plans to generate additional power, including running power plants on rent and inviting the private sector to invest in power sector, he said.

Source : PTI