KARACHI: In a significant development for the megacity’s power infrastructure, K-Electric Limited (KE) has announced its decision to decommission the SITE Gas Turbine Power Station (SGTPS) and Korangi Town Gas Turbine Power Station (KTGTPS).
This decision was made during the meeting of the KE Board of Directors held on Tuesday. The company will now seek approval for this action from the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) by filing a Licensee Proposed Modification to its Generation License.
The SGTPS and KTGTPS were integrated into KE’s generation portfolio in 2009 under an agreement with the Government of Pakistan (GoP). These power plants consist of 32 gas engines, each with a gross capacity of 3.041 MW. A 10 MW Steam Turbine was also added to each plant in 2016 to improve efficiency.
According to the company, the decommissioning will not negatively impact KE’s ability to meet consumer demand. The company in its letter to Pakistan Stock Exchange has claimed that it has already implemented measures to ensure a sufficient power supply for its customers.
According to the letter, the decision to retire the plants stems from challenges related to gas supply which was committed by the government. While the plants initially received sufficient local gas, dwindling reserves led to a shift to RLNG (Re-gasified Liquefied Natural Gas) in 2018, following directives from the Cabinet Committee on Energy. However, even with the shift to RLNG, obtaining an adequate supply at the required pressure has remained a challenge in recent years. To address the growing power demand in the megacity, KE said it has added a new 900 MW BQPS III power plant and increased its interconnection capacity with the National Grid to over 2,000 MW. This enhanced capacity allows for a greater off-take of power from the National Grid. The disclosure was made in compliance with Section 96 and Section 131 of the Securities Act, 2015, and Clause 5.6.1(a) of the Rule Book of the Pakistan Stock Exchange Limited.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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