Pakistan's electricity generation cost up 131% YoY

The total cost of generating electricity in the country jumped 131%, hitting Rs13.15 kWh in May 2022 compared to Rs5.7 kWh in May last year.

The increase comes mainly due to a spike in the cost of generation for furnace oil (FO), Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) and coal, which went up by 135%, 178% and 130% respectively, according to a note by brokerage house Ismail Iqbal Securities Limited.

Data on generation mix revealed that electricity generation from coal declined 23% YoY to 2,018 GWh. Pwower generation from FO, nuclear and wind filling the gap, with a yearly increase of 67%, 49% and 93%, respectively.

Power generation from nuclear energy has made great strides and now accounts for 13% of the entire energy mix in May 2022, as compared to just 10% in the same month in 2021.

Meanwhile, power generation went up by 13% YoY to 14,657 GWh during May 2022, compared to 13,010 GWh during May 2021.

“Higher than usual summer temperature and healthy economic activities remained major drivers behind growth,” said Ismail Iqbal Securities.

Electricity generation during 11MFY22 stood at 129,317 GWh, up by 12% YoY, compared with 115,862 GWh recorded during 11MFY21.

In May, hydel was the leading source of power generation, accounting for 24% of the generation mix with 3,591 GWh generated in May 2022, as compared to 3,465 GWh generated in the same month last year, an increase of 4%.

Power generation from RLNG improved 19% to 3,355 GWh in May 2022, as compared to 2,829 GWh generated in May 2021, while accounting for 23% of the energy mix. Power generation from coal accounted for 14% of generation.