PEPCO Chief Confident of Overcoming Pakistan's Power Deficit Within a Year

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Addressing a gathering at the Lahore Management Summit 2009 in June, Tahir Basharat Cheema, the managing director of Pakistan Electric Power Company (Private) Limited (PEPCO) (Lahore, Pakistan) spoke on "Efficient Energy Use in Turbulent Times." Cheema said that Pakistan would overcome the problem of power shortage within a year. By the end of December 2012, Pakistan would see the addition of 10,293 megawatts (MW) of power generation capacity from all sources. Of the total increase in capacity, 3,692 MW would be added in 2009, 1,806 MW in 2010, 3,604 MW in 2011 and 1,191 MW in 2012. The power distribution companies would be supplied with 400 MW of excess power generated by captive power plants.

Cheema said that so far most of the techniques used to reduce the power deficit have been expensive and not very fruitful. He added that in spite of the economic crisis, the non-productive consumption of electricity has increased 8.53%. The country recorded a shortage of 4,956 MW in 2007, and a major factor contributing to this deficit was the insufficient supply of water and gas to power plants, most of which are gas-based. Power theft is another major problem that plagues the power distribution companies of Pakistan. PEPCO is working closely with the country's eight power distribution companies to tackle the problem of power pilfering. Lack of adequate funds has been another reason for the power deficit. Major contributors to this issue have been a massive circular debt and the non-receipt of power bills from the country's Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Cheema is confident that the different measures being adopted to handle these issues would bear fruit and that Pakistan's power situation would improve soon.

As outlined in Vision 2025, the country's medium-term hydropower development program, development of power, and hydropower in particular, is one of the major priorities of the country's present government, which aims to produce electricity efficiently and economically while taking care to minimize all associated environmental and socioeconomic problems. Pakistan is estimated to have the potential to generate 45,000 MW of hydropower. Of that, 6,550 MW of capacity is in operation, 850 MW is under development by the public sector, and 3,800 MW of generation capacity is under development by the private sector.

By 2011, five public sector hydropower projects are to be implemented, and eight more projects will be implemented by 2025. The 1,000-MW run-of-river Neelam-Jhelum project is currently under construction. The $2.16 billion project is expected to be ready in eight years. About 4.1% of the work was completed by the end of April 2009. Construction of the 4,500-MW Diamer Bhasha project is expected to commence in February-March 2010 and come on stream by 2016. Power from both of these projects would be fed to the national grid. The 17.36-MW Satpara Dam project is under construction and as per the original contract, is expected to be completed by September 2009. However, several delays have been plaguing the project. In addition to supplying power, the project is designed to irrigate 15,536 acres of land and supply 3.1 million gallons per day of drinking water to the city of Skardu.

PEPCO's power generation plans include development of 478 MW of generation capacity from hydropower, 1,381 MW from rental plants, 1,949 MW from independent power producers and 50 MW from wind power. Cheema said that the private sector is being aided with all the facilities required to set up power plants on a fast-track basis. In that connection, the 136-MW Bhikki thermal power plant being set up by independent power producer Halmore Power Generation Company (Private) Limited is expected to be commissioned shortly.

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