LAHORE - Pepco has frozen all power development projects including a mega project to import 1000MW electricity from Iran for an indefinite period on account of ongoing rehabilitation in four distribution companies namely PESCO (Peshawar), MEPCO (Multan), QESCO (Quetta) and HESCO (Hyderabad) devastated by the unprecedented floods. The dream of seeing an end of the ongoing power crisis is not possible in near future as instead of development the rehabilitation will eat up all resources which were in the pipeline for development power sector. The all power sector projects may get deferred for next couple of years owning to major shift in the focus of Wapda and Pepco after the floods, which have opened a billion dollar new field of rehabilitation of damaged electricity installations on emergency basis. Official sources said the Pepco has suffered huge loss due to destruction of its infrastructure across the country and it will not be able to spare funds for any new development project for years. Before the unforeseen floods, the engineering teams of Pepco and Wapda were busy in finalising feasibility of the project with brotherly country of Iran for 1000MW electricity to meet the electricity shortfall in the country a top Pepco official said, adding that Iran was ready to give electricity to Pakistan at very nominal rates. Source said only thing that Pakistan needed to do for the project was construction of a transmission line at about 750KM distance from insides Iran to Gwadar, Balochistan and this could have ended the crisis of the electricity in the country but perhaps it was not acceptable to Allah Almighty and the floods turned all plans upside down. They said the estimated cost of Iran-Pakistan transmission line was over $500 million but Ministry of Water and Power was serious about it as electricity from Iran was available on cheap rates which was almost free after one time cost of erecting a transmission line. Now huge money is needed for rehabilitation of the infrastructure of damaged power system of Pepco and it will not be possible to spare funds even after Asian Development Bank (ADB) has promised to extend helping hand in countrys power sector. All the funds which ADB will give will go in the rehabilitation or rebuilding. It is worth mentioning here that beside the pressure of power crisis on the government, the idea of import of 1000MW electricity from Iran sprang out of the friendly relations between the two countries and brotherly offers made in this regard by the Iranian Power Minister and ambassador in Pakistan during several meetings. Pepco DG Muhammad Khalid while talking to The Nation that floods have devastated power supply electricity systems across the country and it will cost billions of rupees for rebuilding the system thus new development projects will definitely remain ignored for some time despite urgency of the projects. He said over Rs10 billion loss has been estimated and survey are still going in and it is apprehended that the loss may go over Rs 12 billion in Pesco (Peshawar), Mepco (Multan), Qesco (Quetta) and Hesco (Hyderabad). The DG Pepco admitted that before floods Federal Minister for Water and Power Raja Pervez Ashraf was scheduled to visit Iran for finalising further details of power import project including purchase rate and tariff with Iranian government and it was all being done on offer of Government of Iran to help Pakistan in energy crisis.