Pakistan aims to import electricity from India

[Salman]

Pakistan aims to import electricity from India


KARACHI: A high-level delegation from Pakistan is set to visit neighboring India next week to thrash out details of the plan to import 500MW on market-based tariff through the Punjab border, official sources said on Monday.

They said, apart from exploring the possibility of importing electricity from India, talks on a 200-km pipeline to move surplus diesel from India to Pakistan are also likely to start soon. Discussions on these issues at the commerce secretary level had already been taken place, they added.

The two countries have agreed to trade in electricity through a specially built high-voltage direct current link between Amritsar and Lahore. Sources added that the proposal is awaiting a clearance from the Ministry of Defence before an agreement is signed.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has signed an agreement with an Iranian private company to import 5,000 MW of electricity from Iran. According to the agreement, two power plants will be built near the Iranian city of Zahedan and in Gwadar region of Pakistan.

Pakistan is currently having problem for generating sufficient electricity due to the shortage of adequate resources for operating power plants, including low water reserves. The shortage may worsen as natural gas consumption and demand for energy continue to rise.

Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) has already announced that the country will need 15,500 MW of electricity this year, but can only generate 9,500 MW and is short of 6,000 MW of electricity.

Well-informed sources in the power sector revealed that more than 10 power generation plants out of 14, lying under the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) through Hydel resource of Tarbela Dam, have been shut down because of lesser water availability in the reservoirs.

Installed power generation capacity of the country is recorded up to 21,000 MW, while the demand of electricity in the country has reduced to up to 12,000 MW in the ongoing winter season.

Another major reason for reduction in power generation capacity, particularly by independent power producers (IPPs), which contribute the major chunk of electricity power to the national grid, is non-payment to fuel supplying companies.

On the other hand, gas distribution companies Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) are also reluctant to supply natural gas for power generation companies due to severe shortage in the country of up to 1.4 billion cubic feet (BCF)