Pak to add 3,504-MW power by Dec '09

Lahore: In view of the commitment made by the Federal government to end load shedding by the end of this year, 3504 MW of additional generating capacity will be added to the national grid by December. Dilating upon the multi-pronged strategy, the spokesman of Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) said on Friday that two new power projects - Malakand-III of 81 MW and Attock Gen Power of 165 MW - had started contributing to the system.

Besides, an additional 300 MW capacity had also been arranged through efficiency enhancement programme of the Pepco-owned plants, he added. He said that 19 other projects would start operating commercially from May till December.

These include 225 MW Atlas Power, 225 MW Orient Power, 232 MW Karkey Rental, 150 MW Rental Plant at Faisalabad, 110 MW Rental Plant at Guddu, 202 MW Fauji Mari Power, 225 MW Sahiwal (Saif) Power, 205 MW Walters Rental, 150 MW Rental Plant at Sahuwala, Sialkot, 192 MW Rental Plant at Multan, 200 MW Rental Plant at Satiana Road, 72 MW Khan Khwar Hydropower, 200 MW Nishat Power, 225 MW Muridke (Sapphire) Power, 62 MW Gulf Power Rental, 200 MW Independent Power Rental, 227 MW Engro Power, 150 MW Bhikki Power and 107 MW Ruba Energy.

In addition, another 300 MW of electricity would also be included in the above tally by enhancing the efficiency level of the existing power houses of the Pepco, he said. He said this would lead to a stupendous increase of 600 MW to the existing Pepco capability and would be in addition to the new capacity of 3504 MW.

The spokesperson, giving details of various ways and means to stabilise the financial health of the Pepco, revealed that after successful negotiations with the financial institutions, the term finance certificates (TFCs) worth Rs 80 billion were being issued in a couple of days. This would help discharge a big chunk of the circular debt, one of the reasons of the ongoing power crisis, he further said.

The spokesperson maintained that owing to the hectic efforts, being made by the Ministry of Water and Power to bridge the gap between demand and supply of electricity, there was certainly an improvement in the situation if compared with the corresponding period last year.