Another imported coal-based plant in Punjab

[I S I]

Sure, you too.

My medicine is Indian tears.

 

[GeraltofRivia]

This will be 2nd coal plant in punjab with super critical tech. I doubt it will effect much. I bet India have hundreds of them all over with much older tech. Pakistan is also slowly going to pass out dirty old oil plants as new ones comes online.

10-15 years ago there wasn't much demand and neither much shortages. What Pakistan should have done is build one big dam every 20 years. But things are not that bad now. Hydro power isn't realiable all year long. And since Pakistan is going to pass out old oil plants, new coal ones will not have much of effect as far as CO2 emissions are concerned.

Agreed. Hydro power is a great source of energy but it does have a few significant issues that should be considered. firstly, hydro is highly weather dependent and may have strong seasonal effect. obviously the storage can reduce the seasonality but it can only do that to certain extent. Hydro power tends to locate far away from the load center, which means it may need significant investment in the transmission system. when the transmission is factored, hydro energy can be quite expensive compared to thermal energy. It also requires a very large up front capital expenditure.

on the other hand, a coal plant is less expensive to build, can be located flexibly and have smaller footprint. obviously the ongoing running cost is higher.

Overall, a power system needs a good balance between thermal and renewable energy sources to make sure it is dependable and economically viable.

 

[Laozi]

My medicine is Indian tears.

How nice, EVEN If your medicine is not there still you can always presume that it is all around you in abundance.

 

[I S I]

How nice, EVEN If your medicine is not there still you can always presume that it is all around you in abundance.

Keep crying. I'm getting refreshed.

 

[Laozi]

Keep crying. I'm getting refreshed.

Be my guest. All you have to do is to pretend. Stay refreshed forever

 

[Gufi]

I do not like Coal-based power plants. They are damaging to environment and cause a good deal of smog. GoP needs to invest heavily in Hydropower projects. The coal-based plants should only be a stop gap.

They replace the ones which run on oil... That is the first step
Secondly we need at least 20000 megawatt of power because at the moment our industry is not really present at a scale which is near what is needed. SO hydro plus coal plus wind which is surprisingly being picked up quickly with a small mix of solar. What we need to wean ourselves off is oil.

The author never does address the argument that power plants should preferably be constructed close to the load centers. This is the article's Achilles' heel and thus it is brushed aside casually.

faulty transmission means that it would not be easily feasible. Our transmission network needs a revamp just to manage the existing load, adding intra-provincial transmission lines is a folly at this time

And the hydro power projects address a MUCH MORE pressing need, WATER!!

I agree, the next projects of Dasu especially should be expedited at a war footing with no excuses or delays acceptable.

 

[Captain77W]

Enjoy the smog!!! These are decommissioned plants from china and I have personally experienced the toxic smog they produce

 

[Chak Bamu]

Go spread this misinformation elsewhere.

 

[I S I]

Be my guest. All you have to do is to pretend. Stay refreshed forever

Yummy. More tears.

 

[wiseone2]

ISLAMABAD:

According to an advertisement of the Energy Department (Government of Punjab), yet another power plant based on imported coal has been approved.

A contractual instrument has been signed with a Chinese company. Many people in this country have raised eyebrows on it, to say the least. In my opinion it is a bad decision which will hurt them and hurt us all. Let me tell you why.

Siting power plants based on imported coal have been generally criticized for several reasons; imported coal will be transported from Karachi which would strain our Railway network, cause pollution and unseemly sights throughout its passage and will affect health and agricultural productivity. There is almost a consensus among experts that imported coal based power plants should be installed on sea coast and electricity be transported from Karachi rather than coal, which would be cleaner and possibly cheaper.

The counter argument popular in Punjab is that demand is high and growing. Hence, power plants should be situated near the load center to avoid congestion and investment in electricity transmission. Also, Punjab would like to be self-sufficient in energy production. The system has tried to meet and satisfy the demand of the Punjab government by approving several RLNG power plants, one after the other.

Recently, yet another RLNG based power plant has been approved, possibly (and vainly as has been proved by the approval of Rahim Yar Khan plant) to meet their requirements and assuage their worries. But nothing seems to have worked.

Interestingly enough, Rahim Yar Khan is a better site than Sahiwal where a coal power plant has been installed and is working already. And perhaps, if at all, coal power plant should have been located at Rahim Yar Khan first in the first place, as it is closer to Karachi and it would have been far less costly in financial, environmental, and railway congestion terms.

Another issue is that are we going to forget our Thar coal resources which most people have been craving for. Two coal power plants, one in Sahiwal and the other in Karachi, each of 1,320MW, should have been enough to meet the emergency. Further coal plants should have been planned and installed in Thar. It costs 4 US cents to produce one unit of electricity on imported coal and thus, one coal plant would be loading an annual import bill of $400 million.

Admittedly, this article and other efforts of this nature may not be successful in dissuading the government in going ahead with this project, although I would sincerely request them and urge them to reconsider it. I propose a compromise solution which is of changing the coal power plant design on the following lines.

The Rahim Yar Khan coal plant, others in Punjab and elsewhere should be CFBC based power plants ala Engro’s Thar coal power plants instead of Pulverized (PC) coal power plants that have been installed for imported coal.

This would enable them to use local Thar coal as well or a mixture of local and imported coal. The damage would thus be minimized.

Rahim Yar Khan, being on Sindh border, is close to Thar than any other site that is being considered in Punjab.

One could contemplate a direct road or rail link between Thar and Rahim Yar Khan and then onwards to Sahiwal. From Islamkot in Thar to Rahim Yar Khan, there is a distance of 700kms by car and 500kms in crow flight (point to point straight).

A special road link can be built or preferably a rail track. The same route can be used for taking the Thar coal to Sahiwal, in case Sahiwal coal power plant can be converted to Thar coal or a mix of imported and local. In some hard days when there would be foreign exchange problem, this solution can be handy. But solutions take time.

Punjab govt’s ‘Sahiwal power plant’ pictures stir controversy

I started with opposing the Rahim Yar Khan coal power plant proposal or decision and have ended up proposing compromise solutions reducing the pain and cost of swallowing this bitter decision of the relevant authorities. What can I do; justifying the mistake or reducing the potential cost of the mistake?

Unfortunately, Thar coal is fast losing ground soon after its inception. On the one hand, there is pressure from climate change and environmental consideration and there is competition from falling prices of Renewable Energy, and on the other hand there is the unfortunate role of the two provincial governments.

Punjab government is pursuing energy autonomy objectives almost like a separate country without realising its implications on foreign exchange. Sindh government continues to behave as a resource monopolist, little realising that times have changed.

They should in these circumstances act as resource marketers offering better terms and prices. Instead they keep insisting on Higher Returns such as IRR of 20% which reduces Thar coal competitiveness. Also, they are awarding one mining license after other without regard to market conditions. They should have waited till existing Engro mine is booked up to the optimum required capacity resulting in cost reduction.

Finally, a number of issues would have to be resolved before going ahead with such projects. There should be no hurry, already 10,000MW is in the pipeline and some pause can be taken without causing any short supply.

Some time can be spent for studies and sober thinking and evaluation. The Ministry of Water and Power has been opposing imported coal power plants, tooth and nail; reportedly, its secretary had been de- seated due to his opposition and the latest martyr is the NTDC managing director.

Secondly, there is confusion and controversy on the demand projections; there are views ranging from 4% RoG of pessimists to the 10% or even more being pushed by super-enthusiasts who foresee Pakistan becoming an ‘Asian Tiger’ very soon. The issue has to be resolved through genuine technical studies.

The Planning Commission had started some work on this issue and a few high level visits were made by the US Energy Information Administration. A PC-1 had also been approved, although after much delay and procrastination. The Commission is in some kind of limbo and dysfunction these days .They don’t manage to get the right persons despite several advertisements. They must put their act together and commission the proposed study.

Alternatively, a committee should be formed of governmental and non-governmental experts who should be able to develop some recommendations and projections in a period of three months. The committee may also examine the issue of debt servicing and paying capacity in order to recommend a viable programme resolving the current confusion and controversy.

Current imported coal tariff is due for reexamination (for new projects), as it had a life of two years. It is quite high in comparison to tariffs in the region(around 5 cents).

Balochistan gears up for 1,320MW coal-fired plant

It is about 8.5 cents plus rail transportation cost to site which would make it 9.5 cents. In my opinion, separate determinations should have been made for CPEC projects. In CPEC projects, there is no competition and thus CAPEX is naturally overstated (in the instant case by 30-40%). It should have been accompanied by lower ROEs as compared to the competitive bidding projects.

Instead, NEPRA raised the RoE to 16% instead of the normal 15%. IDC (interest during Construction) provisions can also be brought down due to smaller construction period of 24-30 months than provided in the upfront tariff. If the needed adjustments are made, imported coal power tariff can be brought down by 25%. In the new relaxed situation, there is scope for hard negotiations with Chinese in this respect and carve out special terms suiting the situation. NEPRA has to show some spine and shun relying on vendor supplied data.

Concluding, the Rahim Yar Khan power plant is a big mistake. Apparently, this is a victory of government of Punjab vis-à-vis federal institutions. But this victory would be an ultimate defeat as it would hurt them and hurt us all eventually. Would they desist from it, reading the afore-mentioned? I am not sure.

The writer has been member energy at the Planning Commission until recently

Published in The Express Tribune, July 17th, 2017.
https://tribune.com.pk/story/1459595/another-imported-coal-based-plant-punjab/

Isn't it cheaper to setup the power plant in Karachi and transmit the power to Punjab ?
Who is the owner of the power plant ?

 

[Arsalan]

I agree, the next projects of Dasu especially should be expedited at a war footing with no excuses or delays acceptable.

Totally true!
That and a couple of other hydro power projects. Then next thing should be investment made on rain water storage, water filtration and urban distribution. We may be facing a severe water crisis in coming years, need to gear up now!

 

[Captain77W]

Go spread this misinformation elsewhere.

Don't come crying when you are choking on the smog of these plants

 

[KRAIT]

WHy isnt Pakistan investing more on Hydro projects and Nuclear energy. You have so many rivers and enough Uranium.

 

[Gufi]

That and a couple of other hydro power projects. Then next thing should be investment made on rain water storage, water filtration and urban distribution. We may be facing a severe water crisis in coming years, need to gear up now!

On this i disagree with most people. We are not facing a water crisis for some time right now. I have been to a few countries in my life, and never have I seen people more wasteful with water then in Pakistan. We have ZERO water saving measures in place, and do all we can do waste water. Whether it is planting trees which are totally wrong for the environment and need to be watered multiple times, to washing the roads after we wash our cars(idiocy to say the least) we are the most wasteful nation on earth when it comes to water I think.

That and a couple of other hydro power projects.

Multiple dams need to be built, but the funding is hard to come by. Dams require long term planning and no government can plan ahead of 5 years which is why we have no dams. Smaller dams are something we have to work on also but there seems to be no will. Need to get out on the streets and protest on this as well.

 

[Arsalan]

On this i disagree with most people. We are not facing a water crisis for some time right now. I have been to a few countries in my life, and never have I seen people more wasteful with water then in Pakistan. We have ZERO water saving measures in place, and do all we can do waste water. Whether it is planting trees which are totally wrong for the environment and need to be watered multiple times, to washing the roads after we wash our cars(idiocy to say the least) we are the most wasteful nation on earth when it comes to water I think.

Multiple dams need to be built, but the funding is hard to come by. Dams require long term planning and no government can plan ahead of 5 years which is why we have no dams. Smaller dams are something we have to work on also but there seems to be no will. Need to get out on the streets and protest on this as well.

You are right about us being wasteful and that needs to be addressed as well. However we do need water storage and distribution setup otherwise we will be facing a water crisis in 2030 or there about. Look at the interior Sindh and you will understand what i am saying. This need to be a multi dimensional effort. SAVE WATER BY CUTTING THE WASTE - STORE WATER AND DISTRIBUTE MORE EFFICIENTLY.