What's new

Energy Projects...Updates

Pakistan plans hydro projects on Jhelum River with Chinese help

Pakistan has offered China to carry a research on the Jhelum river cascade, which was proposed last month during the 8th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) in Beijing. Curbing Pakistan’s water crisis and power shortage have been a focus area under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The JCC documents reveal that both countries will discuss 700 MW Azad Pattan and 640 MW Mahl hydropower projects at the next Expert Panel meeting, and the meeting will also go through other power projects proposed by provinces. Under CPEC, Karot hydropower project and the Neelum-Jhelum hydro power project are already located on the Jhelum River.
 
Minister for GIS mapping of 11Kv feeders

ISLAMABAD - Federal Minister for Power, Omar Ayub Khan has directed the electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) to immediately undertake GIS mapping of all the 11Kv feeders and replace the 100000 electromagnetic electricity meters with digital meters by end of February 2019 to reduce line losses.

The minister passed these directions while presiding over a meeting on the overall performance of the Ex-WAPDA Distribution Companies (Discos) here Monday. The meeting was attended by the Chief Executive Officers (CEO) of all DISCOs. The meeting also discussed the plan for the upcoming summer.
 
Ministry seeks tax exemption on income of power plants

ISLAMABAD: The ministry of energy has sought tax exemption for National Power Parks Management Company Private Limited (NPPMCL) for income generated from Balloki and Haveli Bahadur Shah power plants. In this regard, the ministry of energy has prepared a summary and sent it to the law division, the finance ministry, and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for feedback.

According to the documents, the summary seeks tax exemption on the income of NPPMCL. The summary will be forwarded to federal cabinet’s Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) after incorporating the feedback and advice provide by the law division, FBR and the finance ministry.
 
Danish companies to bid for renewable energy projects
January 25, 2019
1896120-image-1548360287-361-640x480.jpg

Pakistan government is working on opening the power sector to turn it into a multi-buyer and multi-seller market, which will offer huge investment opportunities in all related areas.

ISLAMABAD: Danish investors have made a firm commitment to participating in the bidding process for renewable energy projects in Pakistan, which the government is planning to conduct in the third or fourth quarter of the current year after approval of the renewable energy policy.

The assurance came in a meeting between a delegation of Danish renewable energy investors, led by Denmark Ambassador to Pakistan Rolf Michael Hay Pereira Holmobe, and Minister for Power Omar Ayub Khan at the latter’s office on Thursday. Prime Minister’s Task Force on Energy Chairman Nadeem Babar also participated in the meeting.

The Danish ambassador expressed satisfaction over Pakistan government’s plans, saying investors of Denmark were closely and keenly following the growing power sector of Pakistan. “Danish companies will participate in the bidding for renewable energy projects since Danish technologies are amongst the top most in the world in such areas,” the envoy said.

The minister for power, while welcoming the interest of Danish investors in renewable energy, told the delegation that Pakistan’s upcoming renewable energy policy was aimed at implementing affordable energy projects on a massive scale to increase its share in the overall energy mix by 20% till 2025 and 30% till 2030 from the existing 4%.

He said the Power Division was also working on a proposal for consideration of the cabinet in a bid to pave the way for the clearance of renewable energy projects that were stalled due to a previous government’s decision. It would help “gain confidence of investors in the sector”.

He pointed out that Pakistan government was also working on opening the power sector to turn it into a multi-buyer and multi-seller market, which would offer huge investment opportunities in all related areas.

PM Task Force Chairman Babar highlighted that the task force was in the process of finalising the country’s energy demand scenario for the longer duration of 25 years, with a full-fledged energy plan for transparent transactions at all levels.

He apprised the Danish delegation that the government’s policy in that regard would be based on three principles – energy availability, affordability and security.

The power minister emphasised that only utilisation of domestic resources like hydel, solar, wind and Thar coal could ensure affordability of electricity since other sources largely depended on fluctuations in international markets.
 
Port Qasim Power Plant inducts 46 new Pakistani university graduates.

The 2x660 MW coal powered Port Qasim Power Plant,

50781378_1857817621012594_1471653119292080128_n.jpg


51041808_1857817511012605_3445019201134133248_n.jpg
 
CPPCL to review tariff for 300MW Gwadar coal plant

426454_8499738_gwadar1111_akhbar.jpg


KARACHI: CIHC Pak Power Company Limited (CPPCL), developer of 300MW coal-fired power plant in Gwadar, has rejected the engineering, procurement, construction (EPC) stage tariff of Rs6.69/kWh determined by the regulator and urged for review to reconsider the tariff, a document said.

CPPCL had proposed a 30-year levelised tariff of Rs8.91/kWh for the power plant being setup at a cost of $542.36 million.

In a review petition, CPPCL contended that National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra), unilaterally reduced Return on Equity (RoE) from 17 percent to 14 percent justifying that the overall country risk came down and the need for power projects has reduced over time.

CPPCL noted that country risk was depicted by macroeconomic, indicators such as foreign exchange reserves, current account balance, and reserves adequacy, GDP growth etc, all of which were trending negatively since 2014.

Highlighting the fundamentals of Pakistan’s economy, CPPCL noted mere addition of power to the grid does not itself bring down the overall country risk, as total debt and liabilities have increased from Rs17.4 trillion in 2014 to Rs28.4 trillion in 2018; current account deficit has increased from $3.13 billion in 2014 to $18.13 billion in 2018; and foreign exchange reserves have reduced from $13.5 billion in 2015 to $9.89 billion in 2018.

It added credit rating at the start of 2015 by Fitch and Moody's was B and B3 respectively, which was considered a highly speculative country to invest in. The credit rating provided by Fitch and Moody's recently is B- and B3 respectively, which still falls under highly speculative category for investment.

The review petition also noted that the project was situated in a high risk zone, and the CSR requirements imposed on the company further justified the need for a higher return.

“In light of the above, we feel that the authority may kindly reconsider its decision on the matter and approve the return sought by the company of 17 percent,” it said.

CPPCL further contended that Nepra had used EPC cost signed by Jamshoro coal-fired power project as the benchmark for evaluating EPC cost of their project. “A 150MW unit project cannot be compared to a 660MW unit project as there is a significant escalation in terms of per MW costs for the former over latter,” it said.

CPPCL submitted the authority completely ignored the fact that the EPC cost was arrived at through a transparent and competitive bidding process. “Jamshoro plant should not be used as a benchmark and the number arrived at through a transparent bidding process as per Nepra guidelines should be used to arrive at the EPC cost of the project.”

Nepra disapproved black start generator cost of $10.8 million on the premise. “NEPRA should note that unlike other projects, CPPCL’s project requires black start generator facility as the local grid is isolated, unreliable and erratic. In case of a shut-down, plant will be restarted through self-generated power, failing which it will be at risk of penalties,” the review application noted.

While accepting the need for a desalination plant, Nepra has disallowed the rental, installation and dismantling of the desalination plant, which needs to be reconsidered, it added. CPPCL noted that the authority had disallowed several incremental costs on the premise, which also needs to be reconsidered.

According to the review application, the authority did not clarify whether non-adjustable sales would be included in the project cost or it be would allowed as a pass-through item to be recovered from Central Power Purchasing Company (CPPA).

Sponsors of the 300MW coal-fired plant in Gwadar have requested a clarification in this regard. CPPCL has also sought adjustment on account of overhaul and maintenance (O&M) costs.
 
Karot Hydropower devoted to green development and People's well-being of Pakistan
By: Aamir Iqbal; Li Yunxuan; Song Manlin

Pakistan is not alone in achieving its ambitions. It has potential for energy but threatened by an acute energy crisis for the past decade, other Asian nations are competing to harness the power of the Himalayan Rivers, on which more than billion people depend directly for sustenance.

Along the banks of the Jhelum River, surrounded by quite hilly range near the city of #Rawalpindi at the border of Punjab & AJK, stands a 720 MW Karot Hydropower Project, turning into Pakistan’s rice bowl would be the first success of CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor) in the region of achieving first mile stone of China Silk Road Fund with an investment of 1.74 billion. It is contemporary Chinese plan to link some of the biggest rivers, modern transportation networks and numerous energy projects in the region, at an estimated cost of nearly 64 billion as of 2017.

Karot Hydropower Project is located on the Jhelum River which is the 4th among the 5 Cascade HPPs to be developed along Jhelum River. Installed capacity of the Project is 720 MW (4×180MW) with average annual electricity output 3206 GWh and annual utilization hours 4452h of clean, reliable and affordable electricity. As a single power generation task hydropower complex, the project’s structure layout includes rock fill dam, spillway, powerhouse, diversion tunnels and head race tunnels.

The project is being developed in the Private sector under the Power Policy 2002 on a Build-Own-Operate Transfer (BOOT) basis with an expected concession period of approximately 35 years, which includes the construction period of 5 years and the operation period of 30 years and after that it will be handed over to Pakistani Government with the cost of PKR One (1) Rupee.

2018 is a crucial year for the civil construction stage of Karot Hydropower Project. In order to close the river, first main structure of Karot project, diversion tunnel was completed with good quality in August, 2018. The total length of the three diversion tunnels is 1341.8m, Chinese Contractor completed 1070 thousand cubic meters excavation at inlet and outlet slops, moreover, diversion tunnel excavation completed 377 thousand cubic meters. China Speed indicated once again at Karot project. The diversion tunnel overflowed on 6th of September, 2018, which laid a solid foundation for the implement closure in advance. Karot Project has successfully completed river closure in September 22, 2018, the project has entered into a critical stage of dam and powerhouse construction, which is another important milestone.

720 MW Karot Hydropower Project is sponsored by Chine Three Gorges South Asia Investment Ltd. The Export Import Bank of China, China Development Bank, Silk Road Fund and International Funding Corporation are main lenders of this project. The Financing work of Karot Project is also achieved significant achievement. Karot Project has won the Asia Pacific Hydropower Project Best Financing awarded of 2017 by IJ Global in 2018.

Karot Project is not only paying the attention to the construction, but also to help promote the living conditions. In 2018, the Kannada Primary School and the Hollar Village Basic Health Center have been successfully completed and handed over to the local government. These two items will promote the education standard and medical situation immensely. Other items mentioned as above are also progressing in an orderly manner. Approximately at the same time, 3000 Employment opportunities for local people have been created per year during the construction period. During the five-year construction period, the Karot Hydropower Project will pay a total of US$23 million (about Rs. 2.4 billion) in taxes to the Federal Government of Pakistan. In the 30 years of operation, the Pakistani government of Punjab and the AJK region will receive an annual income of Rs 674 million. These projects held out the prospect of increasing energy and employment in a part of the world where 68% people are deprived with basic needs. Moreover, after the completion of Karot Hydropower Project, it can produce 3.206 billion kWh of clean energy per year, reducing the local voltage conspicuously. It is also expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 3.5 million tons per year, in order to improve the proportion of clean energy and make a positive contribution for optimize the energy structure in Pakistan.

Chinese official and private sectors have been playing crucial role in the recent years, strengthening Pakistan’s economy. The Chinese government’s sectors had been forthcoming in helping the country through grant, loans and investment giving boost to Pakistan’s economy, mainly under the CPEC. With a strong footprint CTG envisages clean energy plans in near future. Solar & Wind energy projects are in development mode and In Phase 1 Wind Farm (49.5 MW) has been completed in BOT mode near Karachi, in South Pakistani region. They have acquired rights to develop Phase 2 Wind Farm (99 MW) and Phase 3.

50837193_1859338847527138_165841494891036672_n.jpg


51505832_1859338887527134_182709888751763456_n.jpg
 
969 MW Neelum Jhelum Hydroelectric Power Project.
Latest View of Damsite from the eye of Drone Cam.

51632733-1870319866429036-9070430927208841216-n.jpg





51356371-1870319903095699-3872887163171373056-n.jpg
 
KP: Newly-installed 179-km long 132 KV Transmission Line from 106 MW Golen Gol Power Plant to Timargara, Lower Dir.

51939053_1877827712344918_3254925288642969600_n.jpg
 
Private sector eager to utilise idle capacity at LNG terminals

Private-sector players have approached the government, seeking allocation of idle capacity of liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals for gas import at competitive rates in a bid to feed power plants and industrial units without involvement of state-run enterprises.

LNG consumers have already paid an additional $45 million in 2018 due to unutilised capacity of LNG terminals and are also expected to bear an extra cost of $40 million in the ongoing year.

The regulator of LNG terminals – Pakistan LNG Terminals Limited (PLTL) – has also recommended to the government to allow the private sector utilise the idle capacity of LNG terminals for a smooth supply of imported gas.
 
CPHGC 1320 MW coal power plant.
China Power Hub Generation Company Private Limited

#CPEC #CPIH #Hub #Balochistan #China #Pakistan

FB_IMG_1550657363923.jpg
 
Karachi: Aimed at facilitating Bin Qasim Industrial Park’s anticipated additional power requirement in view of the ongoing phase II development of the project, K-Electric and National Industrial Parks Development & Management Company (NIP) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding today.

The MoU was signed by Moonis Alvi, CEO K-Electric, and Rizwan Bhatti, CEO NIP, in the presence of Abdul Razzak Dawood, Adviser to Prime Minister and other prominent businessmen at PIDC house today.

Through the MoU, KE will develop a 64-megawatt grid and 132kV transmission line, extendable as per future needs, at an initial tentative cost of Rs 1.8 billion.

At the same time, NIP will seek approval from the federal government for funding support under Special Economic Zones Act 2012.

The MoU comes at a crucial time when various large-scale industrial concerns in the project are planning to enter production phase in the coming months.

On this occasion, Moonis Alvi, CEO, KE said, “We are committed to powering industrial growth and facilitate industrial customers; signing of this MoU today is yet another testament of our efforts to accelerate socioeconomic development of Pakistan industrial hub Karachi. Industries are and will always remain our top priority and all possible measures would be taken to continue to facilitate industrial consumers – helping them unlock their full potential.”
 

Country Latest Posts

Back
Top Bottom