Determined to end load shedding, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has requested a “timely completion” of power projects across the country. Several plant conversions and new-builds with a combined capacity of nearly 5.8 GW are targeted to supply electricity to the grid by mid-2018.
PM Sharif said he would “personally monitor the progress” on a fortnightly basis and is planning for onsite visits to push for a swift completion of construction.
Danger of escalating public discontent
At a high-level meeting at the Prime Minister’s office on Friday, Pakistan’s federal secretary for water and power characterised the year 2016 as “most stable [and as] the best period for power generation during the last ten years. Seemingly unimpressed by this assessment, the PM requested assurances for a timely completion of several key projects before summer 2018.
The port city of Karachi in July has been witnessing almost daily riots in response to long blackouts. Observers say Pakistan’s electricity crisis has reached a tipping point – though 70% of households are connected to the national power grid, very few enjoy uninterrupted power supply.
Chronic capacity underutilisation
Peak power production stands at a dismal 16,548 MW – a far cry from the installed capacity of 22,797 MW – mainly because few end-customers are prepared to pay their energy bills. This leaves the country struggling with a deficit of over 6,000 MW, against a demand that can surge to 21,200 MW during the summer period.
The new power projects that are targeted to deliver a much-needed stable supply of electricity to the grid by mid-2018, include
- the conversion of Guddu Power & Nandipur Power plants to natural gas,
- three LNG-fired power plants in Punjab,
- Sahiwal coal power plant (1,350MW), Port Qasim power plant (1,320 MW),
- two nuclear power plants (650 MW),
- Neelum Jhelum (950 MW)
- and the Tarbella 4 Extension (1,500 MW).