HUBCO to be at full capacity by September 2015: CEO

Mansoor says repair and maintenance work would increase productivity.

KARACHI:

The Hub Power Company (Hubco), country’s second largest electricity producer in the private sector, plans to complete its plants’ overhaul by the end of September 2015, a top company official said on Thursday.

The company has been carrying out repair and maintenance of the boilers of its four power plants for a couple of months in a bid to increase productivity, said Hubco CEO Khalid Mansoor.

“We are trying to complete the work in the quickest possible time as Hubco is cognisant of the fact that there is great demand for power,” he said. “We are closely coordinating with authorities to make this as smooth as possible.”

Electricity demand has shot up with rise in temperature across the country as the system is struggling to maintain supply.

The overhaul work has forced Hubco to cut production, which has also affected its earnings. In the nine months to March 2014, its profit was down 32.5% to Rs4.993 billion.

The four power units with 325MW capacity each (1300mw total) are being operated at a load factor of 65.7%. Load factor is the capacity at which the power plant is operated.

Mansoor said repair of the boilers was long overdue. “This was necessary to ensure optimal capacity utilization and should have been done a long time back. So I had planned it soon after taking over as CEO.” Mansoor took office on May 20, 2013.

Work on the first boiler took 110 days to complete during which the particular unit was not operating. The second unit took 35 days for maintenance work to be completed.

“Hubco will be running at full capacity from the end of first quarter (July-September) of fiscal year 2015-16,” Mansoor said.

Hubco was the first and largest power station financed by private sector in southern Asia during the 1990s. The company also owns a 225MW power plant in Narowal and a 75% share in hydro power project – Laraib.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 2^nd, 2014.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.