Power generation falls in peak demand season

LAHORE: The country has witnessed lower power generation in June, one of peak months in terms of power demand, thanks to dearth of fuel for thermal plants on the back of liquidity crunch.

Factors, including downturn in economic activities and non-availability of fuel for power generation, have been attributed to a downward trend in electricity supply.

It was learnt that costly thermal power generation has seen a declining trend as the government wanted to keep circular debt in check.

According to official electricity data, power generation registered a decline by 3.4 percent year-on-year (YoY) to 13,876GWh during June, 2022, compared to 14,361GWh (19,946MW) during June, 2021.

More alarmingly, on YoY basis, decline in generation is witnessed after 21 months, precisely in Sep 2020, which was down by 3.8 percent YoY.

However, during FY22, power generation increased by 10.0 percent YoY to 143,193GWh, compared with 130,223GWh during FY21.

In the month of June, Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) was the major source of power generation, showing 24.4 percent share in the generation mix with 3,391GWh units in June 2022, as compared to 25.5 percent jump as 2,701GWh generated in the same month last year.

Owing to persistent water shortage, power generation from hydel was on lower side, accounting for 24.2 percent of generation, while coal emerged as the third leading source with 13.6 percent generation in June, 2022.

Availability of power has been an issue lately so does the affordability of electricity.

During June, fuel cost for power generation increased by whopping 160 percent YoY to an average of PKR 14.72/KWh, compared with an average cost of PKR 5.65/KWh during Jun’21. On a month-on-month (MoM) basis, it is also up by staggering 12 percent.