Thar Power Plant produces 4,305 GwH electricity in first year, saving huge foreign exchange

The first 660 megawatt Thar-coal based Engro Powergen project has added 4,305GwH electricity to the national grid since its commissioning a year ago, powering one million households and benefitting around seven million Pakistanis, said the officials.

The plant also generated much cheaper per unit of electricity compared with the LNG-based and imported coal-based producers. It saved the government and consumers $130 million compared to LNG-based generation and $80 million compared to imported coal-based plants during its first year of operations, they said.

The mine mouth 2X330MW power plants are operated by Engro Powergen Thar Limited, a majority owned company of Engro Energy, and the Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC), a joint venture of the Sindh government and Engro Energy with other corporate partners.

Thar Coal Block-II mine also completed its first year of operations along with the power plants. SECMC successfully unearthed the first layer of coal in June 2018, completed all steady state production of on-specification coal and commenced commercial operations for 3.8 million tons per annum (mtpa) output of lignite coal under phase one of its plan on July 10, 2019. During the year, it has supplied about four million tons of coal to the power plants.

SEMC CEO Syed Abul Fazal Rizvi said the company had also achieved the financial close of phase II during the year, which would allow output of the mines to increase from 3.8mtpa to 7.6mtpa, taking the total power generation from Block-II to 1,320MW by 2021.

In his comments on completion of one year of successful and safe operation of the Thar coal mine and power projects, Engro Corporation President and CEO Ghias Khan said: “At Engro, we are determined to solve some of Pakistan’s most pressing issues and meet the challenges in the energy value chain, which is at the core of our focus under the energy vertical.”

Engro Energy CEO Ahsan Zafar Syed said the successful operations of power and mining projects showcased the true promise of Thar coal and the realization of the Thar dream which had been over two decades in the making. “This is a monumental achievement which demonstrates our ability to deliver on mega projects that are not only good for Pakistan but also underscore the need for public-private partnerships”.

The company has invested over Rs1.5 billion in social interventions bringing development and prosperity for local communities in Tharparkar through Thar Foundation, which focuses on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) framework. The Foundation has undertaken meaningful interventions in high-impact areas.