ISLAMABAD (APP) - Ministry of Water and Power has proposed privatisation of four power distribution companies (DISCOs) to improve efficiency in power sector and getting these companies out of financial losses. Additional Secretary Ministry of Water and Power Zarar Aslam in a media briefing on Saturday said that out of four DISCOs to be privatised three are functioning in losses included Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO), Haidarabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO) and Quetta Electric Supply Company (QESCO) while Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (FESCO) is a profitable company. He said out of eight companies four are earning profit however he added to give relief to all consumers, the ministry is following the policy of uniformity in electricity tariff. He said Engro Power Company will start work on 1000 MW power plant at Thar coal area as the government has divided the area into eight blocks and out of which one block is being allocated for installation of power plant. He said the company will require an amount of $1.5 billion for start of 1000 MW power project. He said the government has planned to focus on hydel, wind and solar projects and reduce dependency on thermal. He said that construction work on 11 billion dollars Diamir- Bhasha Dam project will be started in current fiscal year. He added Asian Development Bank will finance the project while Islamic Development Bank will also provide financial assistance. Replying to a question, he said that royalty issue of the dam will be resolved amicably by the government as a committee has been constituted for boundary demarcation of power house. He said the govt had only two options to overcome energy crises included power import and second rely on rental power projects. He added the best option was to produce electricity through rental power plants. He expressed the hope that 3,500 MW additional electricity will be included in the system by Dec 2009 with the start of power projects being initiated on emergency basis by the govt. He said additional electricity of 13,000 MW will be generated by 2012. He said in order to conserve electricity the Ministry will write all municipal administrations of the country to link street lights with solar energy system. He said efforts are being made by teams of PEPCO and WAPDA to restore electricity generation from Mangla power house in shortest possible time. He said WAPDA and PEPCO authorities are utilizing all the resources and work force to meet the deadline of July 25 for complete functioning of power house. He said normally three months require for electrical mechanical work to remove fault from the cable at power house however he added work will be completed within three weeks by using indigenous technology. He said the Mangla power station with an installed capacity of 1100 MW was shut down due to technical fault in main control cable.