Power generation sees 5% rise in March

KARACHI, APR 17 (DNA): Pakistan’s power generation rose by 5% year-on-year in March, driven primarily by a significant surge in electricity output from local coal.

According to official data, power generation totalled 8,409 GWh in March, up from 8,023 GWh in the same month last year. On a month-on-month basis, generation jumped 21% from 6,945 GWh in February.

However, overall power generation for the first nine months of the current fiscal year fell by 2% to 90,147 GWh, compared to 92,340 GWh in the same period last year.

In March, electricity generation from local coal recorded a sharp increase of 62% year-on-year (YoY), while generation from wind rose by 23%. Power generated from wind and solar also increased by 12% and 9.0%, respectively, during the month.

Conversely, hydel power generation dropped steeply by 41% due to reduced water inflows in reservoirs, caused by below-average rainfall. Over the nine-month period, generation from imported coal increased by 46%, while solar power generation rose by 26%.

The cost of electricity generation in March climbed by 14% to Rs9.46 per unit, compared to Rs8.31 per unit in the same month last year. The rise in generation cost was mainly attributed to the increased use of furnace oil and RLNG-based power production. On a monthly basis, the cost surged by 25% compared to February.

Despite the March spike, the average power generation cost for the first nine months of the fiscal year edged down by 1.0% to Rs8.65 per unit, from Rs8.75 per unit in the same period of the previous year.

In terms of contribution by source, hydel remained the leading contributor in March, accounting for 27.6% of total generation, followed by nuclear at 25.8% and RLNG at 20.7%.

Over the nine-month period, hydel contributed 30.4% of total electricity generation, while nuclear and RLNG accounted for 19.1% and 17.4% respectively. Local coal contributed 12.4% to total generation during the same period.