CCOE okays additional 350MW for K-Electric

Currently, power utility gets 650-750MW; additional supply to start in 2022

ISLAMABAD: The Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCOE) on Friday approved additional supply of 350 megawatts of electricity to K-Electric for consumers of Karachi.

At present, K-Electric is being supplied 650-750MW from the national grid to meet demand of the trade hub of Karachi. The additional supply will start in 2022.

In addition to approving the additional supply, the CCOE has already approved the allocation of extra 500MW of electricity to K-Electric, which would be supplied from K2 and K3 power projects.

Earlier, the cabinet committee also endorsed the allocation of 150 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to K-Electric for the company's 900MW power plant at Bin Qasim.

Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) will supply the imported gas to K-Electric from January 2021 to December 2025 at a tariff notified by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra).

The CCOE, chaired by Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, was briefed on the power demand and supply situation in Karachi over the next three to four years.

The committee approved proposals related to supply of additional power to K-Electric from the national grid and gave directives that technical details may be finalised between relevant parties by August 15, 2020. Sources told The Express Tribune that the committee was informed that the expected shortfall between demand and supply of electricity in Karachi might be around 300MW.

Different options were presented to the meeting to bridge the shortfall. It was informed that currently 650MW was being supplied to K-Electric from the national grid, which could be enhanced in the future to meet the shortfall. However, K-Electric lacks the transmission capacity to receive additional supply.

There was a dire need that K-Electric paid attention to enhancing its transmission capacity along with power generation, the CCOE said.

The cabinet body expressed concern over the capacity of K-Electric to meet increased demand from the mega city of Karachi in future.

Power Division Secretary Irfan Ali told The Express Tribune that different options were discussed to meet K-Electric's shortfall. He said it was decided that the government would provide additional supply of electricity from the national grid. However, the transmission system of K-Electric lacked the capacity to sustain additional supply. He said K-Electric would have to improve the capacity of its system by installing new grid stations to receive additional supply.

According to a statement, the CCOE also discussed the Alternative and Renewable Energy (ARE) Policy 2019 and recommended the submission of draft policy to the cabinet.

The policy will be subsequently presented to the Council of Common Interests (CCI) for final approval.

The CCOE was briefed on the current status of the 1,124MW Kohala and 700MW Azad Pattan power projects. It sought further details of the two projects and directed the Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB) to submit the same to the committee at the earliest.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 20^th, 2020.

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