The Generation Company (Genco), which comes under the domain of the Water and Power Development Authority, has flouted the prime minister’s orders to convert Sindh’s oil-based power plants into ones that can run on coal found in Thar.
The prime minister had ordered the conversion at a meeting in Islamabad on October 3. After this, the Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company and Sindh Coal Energy Board had drafted an agreement and sent it to Genco for approval, after which the conversion could be started. But Genco officials have yet to give them a proper response. An official told The Express Tribune that the chief minister has once again decided to complain to the prime minister about the power generation company’s reluctance to sign the agreement.
At a meeting organised on Monday at the Chief Minister House, officials from the Thar Coal and Energy Board and Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company told the chief minister that soon after the prime minister’s orders, they completed all the paperwork and handed over the documents to the federal finance ministry. They said the provincial government would import coal until it could be extracted from coal fields in Thar.
Genco is reportedly objecting to the plan to convert the power plants because it is concerned that the international market will not be able to supply the quality of coal matching with that found in Thar. This will interrupt power generation until it is extracted from fields in Sindh.
But officials from the Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company told the chief minister that it has sent teams to visit mines abroad and found that coal matching the quality is available in Indonesia which can be used in Jamshoro Plant to generate around 880 megawatts.
Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company’s Aliuddin Ansari said that physical work can be started within six months if Genco signs the agreement and the finance division provides a guarantee.
The chief minister said that Thar coal is the only viable option for meeting Pakistan’s future energy needs and the government will provide full support to all projects. He added that it would be tragic if new power plants run on imported coal despite availability of huge resources in the country. “This will be a huge drain on precious foreign exchange and the price of coal will always be subject to international market fluctuation.”
Published in The Express Tribune, November 23rd, 2012.
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