Pakistan’s power generation cost declines over 8% in October

At a time of rising electricity bills, the cost of power generation in Pakistan saw a decline of over 8% in October 2023.

The power generation cost in October stood at an average of Rs8.26/KWh compared with an average cost of Rs9.02/KWh in the same period of the previous year, a decline of 8.4% YoY, said brokerage house Arif Habib Limited (AHL) on Tuesday.

Despite the decline, the power generation cost is still higher than the reference cost of Rs7.89/KWh, said the brokerage house.

“On a yearly basis, the decrease in fuel cost is witnessed mainly due to a decline in imported coal and Regasified Liquid Natural Gas (RLNG)-based cost of generation.

However, despite the decline in the cost of power generation, the rising electricity bills have become a headache for the country’s populace, who are already feeling the pinch of high inflation and slow economic activity.

On a monthly basis, the cost of power generation increased 11.4%, as compared to average cost of Rs7.4 in September.

Meanwhile, power generation in the country clocked in at 9,572 GWh (12,866 MW) in October 2023, 10.6% lower as compared to the same period last year.

Back in October 2022, power generation stood at 10,705 GWh (14,388 MW).

The year-on-year (YoY) decrease in power generation comes on the back of a decline in power generation from imported coal-based sources, which stood at 336 GWh during October 2023, down by 71% YoY, said AHL.

Apart from imported coal, the YoY decrease was attributed to a decline in nuclear (17.2%), gas (45.7%), and RFO (99.9%).

On a monthly basis, power generation decreased by 28.2%, as compared to 13,339 GWh registered in September.

During 4MFY24, power generation increased by 3.7% YoY to 53,710 GWh (18,195 MW) compared to 51,786 GWh (17,543 MW) during 4MFY23.

In October, hydel was the leading source of power generation, accounting for 32.5% of the generation mix, to become the largest source of electricity generation in the country. Followed by RLNG, which accounted for 20.3% of the overall generation, followed by nuclear which accounted for 19.1% of the power generation share.

Among renewables, wind, solar and bagasse generation amounted to 2%, 0.8% and 0.3% of the generation.