Power Generation in Pakistan Rises in March

  • Output boosted by local coal, wind and solar.
  • Hydel power falls steeply amid low reservoir inflows.
  • Generation cost up 14% to Rs9.46 per unit in March.

Pakistan witnessed a 5% increase in power generation in March compared to the previous year, primarily due to a significant boost in electricity production from local coal.

Official data indicates that total power generation reached 8,409 GWh in March, an increase from 8,023 GWh during the same period last year. Month-on-month, power generation increased by 21% from 6,945 GWh in February.

However, the overall power generation for the first nine months of the current fiscal year decreased by 2% to 90,147 GWh, compared to 92,340 GWh in the corresponding period last year.

In March, electricity generation from local coal saw a sharp rise of 62% year-on-year, while wind-based generation increased by 23%. Additionally, power generated from wind and solar sources increased by 12% and 9.0%, respectively, during the month.

Conversely, hydel power generation experienced a steep decline of 41% because of reduced water inflows into reservoirs, attributed to below-average rainfall. Over the nine-month period, power generation from imported coal increased by 46%, while solar power generation rose by 26%.

The cost of electricity generation in March increased by 14% to Rs9.46 per unit, compared to Rs8.31 per unit in the same month last year. This increase was mainly due to the greater use of furnace oil and RLNG-based power production. On a monthly basis, the cost surged by 25% compared to February.

Despite the spike in March, the average cost of power generation for the first nine months of the fiscal year slightly decreased by 1.0% to Rs8.65 per unit, from Rs8.75 per unit in the same period of the previous year.

In terms of source contribution, hydel power remained the leading contributor in March, accounting for 27.6% of total generation, followed by nuclear power at 25.8% and RLNG at 20.7%.

During the nine-month period, hydel power contributed 30.4% of total electricity generation, while nuclear and RLNG accounted for 19.1% and 17.4%, respectively. Local coal contributed 12.4% to the total power generation during the same period.