Govt to shut down expensive fuel-fired power plants

NTDC proposes 10-year plan to NEPRA for alternative, cheaper electricity

ISLAMABAD:

The government has decided to shut down expensive fuel-fired power plants producing 7,339 megawatts.

A ten-year plan for a cheaper alternative formulated by the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) has been sent to the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) for approval.

The agency seeks the closure of eleven furnace oil power plants and five others running on imported liquefied natural gas (LNG). In addition, the agency has also asked to shut down three plants fuelled by imported gas and K-Electric plants based on expensive inventories.

Confirming the development from NTDC, a statement from Nepra shared that the Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan (IGCEP) has been proposed for the period of 2022-31.

According to the statement, the NTDC plan envisages adding 14,159 megawatts of cheap electricity to the system. The project has also proposed to increase the electricity demand to 44,668 megawatts during the said period.

NEPRA will hold a hearing on the long-term plan for cheap electricity on October 19.
The proposals of the provincial governments have also been included in the project.