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- Independent power producers’ mode set for financing China Sunec, Salt Range, Zonergy plants
Though Pakistan has been experiencing electricity shortage, however three energy projects of 1250 megawatts proposed to be completed under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) have been shelved so far, according to official documents.
The documents, available with Pakistan Today, disclosed that three energy projects – China Sunec wind power generation, coal-based Salt Range power plant and Zonergy solar farm project – have been shelved. Total installed capacity of the shelved projects was 1250 megawatts while cost estimated at $2227 and IPPs (independent power producers) mode was set for the financing.
According to the documents, total installed capacity of the China Sunec wind farm was 50mw, while estimated cost at $125m. Similarly, estimated cost of the coal-based Salt Range project was $800m with installed capacity of 300mw including mining. The installed capacity of the Zonergy solar project was 900mw with estimated cost of $1,302m.
According to the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC), the electricity demand has surged to 24,577 megawatts, while the Ministry of Water and Power has fixed electricity quotas for the power distributing companies (DISCOs) on basis of the demand. The NTDC system has remained unable to endure the load of such huge difference between power generation and its demand.
Interestingly, the Water and Power Ministry has been presenting a shortfall of 2,000 to 4,000 megawatts on basis of the demand. Although, Water and Power Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Friday said that the electricity generation has increased to 18,562 megawatts, yet he had faced the prime minister over presenting a rosy picture of country’s energy state in recent two meetings of the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCE).
CPEC has allocated a major proportion of its funds to energy generation and transmission and the energy projects under the CPEC including coal, hydel, wind, solar, LNG (liquefied natural gas) as well as transmission lines are on track. However, no reason made public about the closure of the three energy projects.
It is worth mentioning here that the government has so far injected around 4,400mw in the system since 2013 and from April 2017 onwards to December 2017, about 6,010mw would be added to the system subject to successful testing. The government says that there will be no more unscheduled power outages as the power plants that had been shut down because of annual maintenance would become operational soon.
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2017/06/04/1250mw-energy-projects-under-cpec-shelved/
