Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) hydel power stations delivered as many as 4.731 billion units of low-cost hydel electricity to the national grid during the third quarter of the current fiscal year. It was due to better hydrological conditions and efficient operation and maintenance of hydel power stations, according to the statement issued by Wapda.
This is an increase of 722 million units (18pc) if compared with the generation during corresponding period of the last fiscal year. This increase in hydel power generation has been achieved at a time when the country is in dire need of electricity. It is worth mentioning that Wapda delivers more than 31 billion units of hydel electricity to the national grid every year on the average. Hydel is the cheapest, cleanest and environment-friendly source of electricity generation, which plays a pivotal role to stabilise electricity tariff in the country.
According to the data of Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) regarding per unit cost of electricity generated from various sources in February 2016, it is Rs 1.83 for hydel, which is far lower than per unit cost of electricity generated from all other sources. In comparison to hydel electricity, it is Rs 8.16 per unit for gas, Rs 11.67 for residual furnace oil (RFO), Rs 18.62 for high speed diesel (HSD), Rs 9.01 from IPPs, Rs 12.16 for coal, Rs 7.53 for nuclear, Rs 14.40 for wind, Rs 11.79 for bio-gases, Rs 22.55 for solar, and Rs 10.50 per unit for electricity imported from Iran. At present, hydel power generation capacity of Wapda is 6902MW, which is about one third of the total installed capacity in the country. Despite some of Wapda hydel power stations being as old as 50 years, their generation capacity has stayed intact due to their proper maintenance and efficient operation by Wapda.
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