EPTL reschedules Thar coal power plant’s synching with grid

KARACHI: Engro Powergen Thar Limited (EPTL), developer of 660MW (2x330) Thar coal power plant, has rescheduled the syncing of the first unit of the plant to the national grid for February 2019.

“The company had earlier communicated the syncing of one of the two power units in January 2019, which has now been rescheduled to February 2019. This rescheduling has been done keeping in mind the safety and quality parameters which are paramount for the company,” a spokesman said.

Former CEO of Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) had earlier said, “Under the umbrella of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the first-ever Thar-based lignite coal power plant of 660 megawatts will start adding power to the national grid in January 2019, as less than seven percent work on powerhouse and its coal mine remains.”

The CEO had further said that Prime Minister Imran Khan would visit when the project started adding power to the grid in January 2019.

“There has been no change in the commissioning date of the 660MW (2x330MW) power plant of EPTL. As per the contractual commitment the Commercial Operations Date (COD) of the power plant will be achieved in June 2019 as has been communicated time and again to the stakeholders,” the spokesman said, adding that the EPTL was currently working diligently to ensure that it achieves the COD of the project as committed by June 2019.

It may be mentioned here that Shamsuddin Shaikh resigned just a month before the scheduled inauguration of the power plant he worked on for eight years. Under his watch, the company achieved almost all its goals and met the targets vis-a-vis extraction of coal, installation of two 330MW power units at Thar coal project’s block-II near Islamkot and the completion of work five months ahead of schedule.

“I tendered my resignation well ahead of time because I was shattered to see the total indifference of the rulers towards their commitments made with the local people living near the Thar coalfield to provide them the basic amenities of life,” Shaikh had said.