Majority of non-operational power plants reach end of licenced age

LAHORE: Majority of 27 non-operational power plants have reached end of their licensed age and needed to be declared as redundant if up-gradation is not possible, said reliable power sector sources.

It may be noted that the Ministry of Energy informed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif a day earlier that 27 power plants having a combined generation capacity of more than 7,000 megawatts are out of order due to technical problems or fuel shortages at present.

The Ministry of Energy had presented a list of these power plants during the briefing and put the blame on the lack of direction and political support for fuel arrangements. Copy of the list of power plants is available with Business Recorder.

The list included 210MW Liberty power, four plants with combined capacity of 1,200MW - including Rousch, Nandipur, Fauji Kabirwala and Gas Turbine Faisalabad, 120MW Habibullah Coastal power plant, 550MW Jamshoro, 840MW Muzaffargarh plants, 620MW Sahiwal coal-fired plant, two 301 MW Engro Thar Coal plants, 621 MW Port Qasim, 249 MW Guddu 747, 255 MW Guddu 747, TPS Guddu of various capacities, 245 MW Muzaffargarh, 223 MW Engro Power, 150 MW Kapco, 155 MW Jamshoro, and 350 MW Pakgen.

The sources said all the power generation units of TPS Guddu, except 747, are more than 30 years old. Similar is true for the TPS Muzaffargarh and Jamshoro plants, they added.

According to the sources, GTPS Faisalabad is over 40 years old and should be declared as redundant if up-gradation is not possible. The sources have further criticized the ministry officials for not presenting a true picture of the situation on ground and preferred to blame the immediate past government for not arranging fuel for them, including furnace oil, LNG and coal.

The ministry officials have also saved their skin by pointing out that there was a complete lack of coordination among the petroleum and power divisions of the energy ministry.

The meeting had also noted that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government did not take timely steps to remove technical faults or arrange spare parts for repair or proper maintenance procedures had not been pursued. Most of the faults were of administrative nature but some also involved policy problems, they added.

According to the sources, the power division was in the process of finalizing its demand forecast to see what could be done immediately in consultation with the petroleum division and follow it up with a mechanism for such planning and arrangements.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022