ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Power Division Engineer Khurram Dastgir has informed that with the official commissioning of the 1320 MW Shanghai Electric Thar Coal Project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), total power generation from local Thar coal stood at 2640 megawatts (MW).
Speaking at a press conference held here, the minister claimed that the project, which had been criminally negligently delayed by the previous Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government, had finally not only been finished quickly but had also begun power supply to the system. He also stated that a second 330 MW ThalNova Thar coal project had already been synchronized by the middle of this month.
In just ten months, hesai d, the current administration, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, added a total of 1980 MW of affordable electricity to the grid from domestic Thar coal resources. He added that the Thar coal would not only assist in lowering power rates but also in reducing summertime load-shedding. According to the minister, Thar’s 175 billion tons of coal reserves could produce 100,000 MW of electricity. He said the fact that electricity could now be produced from local coal has dispelled all previous concerns about its viability. This is good news for the entire nation. He expressed gratitude to the entire executive branch, including Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and the Minister of Energy for Sindh.
Khurram said another project, Bolan-Gwadar Transmission Line has also been completed which would help import 100 MW electricity from Iran to Gwadar. The PM would shortly inaugurate the project, he added.
He said transmission of electricity to Gwadar was a big issue but now the project would help address it and the transmission line would start work in mid of March.
Regarding the 6,000 MW PM’s solar energy project, he said the request for proposals to set up the first 600 MW solar project at Muzzaffargarh has already been opened and open bidding for the project would be held on April 17. These local indigenous resources power projects would not only help address energy issues but also help in reduction of power tariff in the country, he said.
Replying to a question, the minister said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has some reservations over circular debt and wanted some guarantee on it during the next fiscal year. However, he said that no change was being made to basic power tariff fixed during last summer.
To another question, the minister said that no power load-shedding was carried out for industrial consumers during the winter.
He said over 150,000 industrial consumers were being shifted on Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) System by June. It would help round-the-clock monitoring of the meters, he added.
