A.Rafay
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ISLAMABAD:
A 320 Megawatt (MW) power plant gifted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has proven to be a white elephant for the government due to its poor efficiency in generating electricity. The latter is now contemplating handing it over to the private sector to generate power for industrial units, after public sector officials refused to dedicate gas to it; citing excessive wastage.
An official of the water and power ministry said the plant was very old and could generate power at only 18% of its capacity. Therefore, it would consume more fuel and generate less power.
Another reason cited for not utilising the plant was that the petroleum ministry had refused to allocate gas to it from indigenous resources. However, the petroleum ministry has expressed willingness to provide imported Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as alternative fuel for the power plant.
The UAE gifted plant produces 3MW of electricity by using one million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of gas, while the industry average is 6MW per mmcfd, a senior petroleum official said. He pointed out that the country was facing a gas shortage that had affected all sectors: therefore, gas could not be given to a plant that had such poor efficiency in power generation. However, he said that LNG could be provided to the plant to generate power.
However: The LNG will not be a cheaper source of fuel, because it would also cost beyond $18 per million British thermal unit, the power ministry official countered; maintaining that the plants inefficiencies would result in generating expensive power, resulting in a higher tariff for consumers.
According to an official, the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) has offered to operate the plant in order to generate power for industrial units.
The proposal is under consideration. We may hand over the power plant to the FCCI so that it can be installed and utilised in some way, the official said. He clarified that approval will first be sought from the cabinets Economic Coordination Committee in this regard.
However, when contacted, Ministry of Water and Power spokesman Zargham Khan denied any moves to hand over the plant to the FCCI.
The power plant had been planned to be set up in Faisalabad the countrys textile hub which is currently able to meet only one-third of its electricity demand.
Former UAE Ruler Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan alNahyan had promised to donate the power plant to help increase power generation in the country. The power plant was not in use in the gulf state, as it had been replaced with a newer one.
Following his promise, UAE authorities had signed a memorandum of understanding with Prime Minister Raja Parvez Ashraf then former federal minister for water and power and worked out a detailed plan for the dismantling and shifting of the plant to Pakistan.
The first shipment of the power plant arrived at Port Qasim in September 2010, but no major work has been done on the installation of the plant since then due to authorities refusal to allocate gas from indigenous resources.
A 320 Megawatt (MW) power plant gifted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has proven to be a white elephant for the government due to its poor efficiency in generating electricity. The latter is now contemplating handing it over to the private sector to generate power for industrial units, after public sector officials refused to dedicate gas to it; citing excessive wastage.
An official of the water and power ministry said the plant was very old and could generate power at only 18% of its capacity. Therefore, it would consume more fuel and generate less power.
Another reason cited for not utilising the plant was that the petroleum ministry had refused to allocate gas to it from indigenous resources. However, the petroleum ministry has expressed willingness to provide imported Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as alternative fuel for the power plant.
The UAE gifted plant produces 3MW of electricity by using one million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of gas, while the industry average is 6MW per mmcfd, a senior petroleum official said. He pointed out that the country was facing a gas shortage that had affected all sectors: therefore, gas could not be given to a plant that had such poor efficiency in power generation. However, he said that LNG could be provided to the plant to generate power.
However: The LNG will not be a cheaper source of fuel, because it would also cost beyond $18 per million British thermal unit, the power ministry official countered; maintaining that the plants inefficiencies would result in generating expensive power, resulting in a higher tariff for consumers.
According to an official, the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) has offered to operate the plant in order to generate power for industrial units.
The proposal is under consideration. We may hand over the power plant to the FCCI so that it can be installed and utilised in some way, the official said. He clarified that approval will first be sought from the cabinets Economic Coordination Committee in this regard.
However, when contacted, Ministry of Water and Power spokesman Zargham Khan denied any moves to hand over the plant to the FCCI.
The power plant had been planned to be set up in Faisalabad the countrys textile hub which is currently able to meet only one-third of its electricity demand.
Former UAE Ruler Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan alNahyan had promised to donate the power plant to help increase power generation in the country. The power plant was not in use in the gulf state, as it had been replaced with a newer one.
Following his promise, UAE authorities had signed a memorandum of understanding with Prime Minister Raja Parvez Ashraf then former federal minister for water and power and worked out a detailed plan for the dismantling and shifting of the plant to Pakistan.
The first shipment of the power plant arrived at Port Qasim in September 2010, but no major work has been done on the installation of the plant since then due to authorities refusal to allocate gas from indigenous resources.
