Pakistan to export electricity to Tajikistan in winter

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has decided to export electricity to Tajikistan in winter season through CASA-1000 project as in the power purchase agreement (PPA), a reverse flow of electricity clause was included and to this effect the authorities in Power Division would soon engage their counterparts in Tajikistan, a senior official of Power Division told The News.

Under the agreement, the official said, once the CASA-1000 project is completed, Pakistan will import 1,000MW electricity from Tajikistan at 9 cents per unit in summer season for 5 months from May to September, but now authorities in Islamabad have made up their mind to export 1,000MW electricity to Tajikistan through the same project in winter as hydro generation in Tajikistan turns zero.

The official said Pakistan has now gained the capacity to generate electricity close to 30,000MW and in winter the demand in Pakistan hovers around 11,000-13,000MW at the maximum and the country is in a position to export the surplus electricity up to 1,000MW to Tajikistan at affordable prices, as CASA transmission line possesses the capacity to transmit electric power up to 1,000MW only.

“And if Pakistan enters the deal for export of 1,000MW power at the same price of 9 cents, then net financial impact will be zero on both the countries as the electricity of the same quantity from both sides will be swapped (traded) in different seasons which means that Pakistan will import electricity in summer and export it to Tajikistan in winter,” said the official.

The construction agreement has been signed among four countries (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan) under the project CASA-1000. Sweden-based well known company in power sector -- ABB -- has been selected through ICB for building two converters to be installed each in Nowshera (Pakistan) and another one in Sungtuda (Tajikistan) at the cost of $313 million. However, the total cost of the project of HVDC (high voltage direct current) transmission line including converters stands at $1.17 billion.

The HVDC transmission line will be laid from Sangtuda in Tajikistan and is to pass through Kunduz, Pul-e-Khumri, Kabul and Jalalabad in Afghanistan and end up in Peshawar. The total length of the transmission line is estimated to be 750km, 16 percent of which would pass through Tajikistan, 75 percent through Afghanistan and 9 percent through Pakistan.

However, under the master agreement of CASA-1000, a transmission line would originate in the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan and pass through Afghanistan to reach Pakistan. The project will comprise the development, financing, construction, ownership and operation of the AC and DC facilities.

This would include a 750km high voltage direct current transmission system between Tajikistan and Pakistan via Afghanistan, together with associated converter stations at Sangtuda (1,300MW), Kabul (300MW) and Peshawar (1,300MW).

A 477km 500-KV alternating current facility would also run between the Kyrgyz Republic (Datka) and Tajikistan (Khoujand). System upgrades would also be required to safely and reliably accommodate the AC and DC facilities and the associated power flows.