K-Electric to add 700MW coal power by 2018

KARACHI: K-Electric signed an agreement with Chinese companies to set up 700 megawatts of coal-fired power plants by 2018, a move that will minimise the utility’s reliance on the electricity supply from the national grid.
A spokesperson at K-Electric Limited (KEL) on Tuesday said the company, China Datang Overseas Investment Corporation (CDTO) and China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) entered into a joint development agreement to develop two 350MW of coal-based power plant with a cost of one billion dollars at Port Qasim.
“The project is in addition to the projects of converting plants to coal combustion at Port Qasim,” the spokesperson said. “The new project will be completed by 2018.”
He added that KEL will inject 30 percent equity into the project, while the Chinese partners will contribute the remaining share.
CDTO is the sole overseas investment arm of China Datang Corporation, one of the top five power generation enterprise group in China, specialising in power production and supply, power-related coal mine development and production and related professional technical services.
CDTO has more than 118,000MW of power generation under its portfolio and $120 billion of assets and ranked 369 in Fortune 500.
CMEC is a Hong-Kong listed world renowned engineering contractor and was ranked among China’s top 10 contractors by the Chinese ministry of commerce.
CMEC has extended its business reach to more than 150 countries and regions in the fields of international engineering contracting and international trade in general.
Meanwhile, K-Energy, which is to convert K-Electric’s Bin Qasim plants to coal, is running pillar to post to get a final go-ahead from the government.
“Vested interest/oil mafia keeps highlighting frivolous points against coal, and the addiction to oil is set to be replaced by an addiction to natural gas/liquefied natural gas,” said an official of an independent power producer.
An official said the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority first took 12 months to modify K-Electric’s licence, which normally is a three-month process. Now, the authority is sitting on their tariff application since June on one pretext or the other.
It is important to mention that while the project will initially use imported coal, new boilers are being designed to operate on coal blended with Thar coal, which as and when becomes commercially available.
The energy generated by this project shall be sold to KE under a long term contractual arrangement as allowed by the Interim Power Procurement Regulations 2005.