The Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) on Monday signed a joint development agreement (JDA) with Sindh Coal Energy Limited (SCEL) and Oracle Coalfields PLC (Oracle) of the UK which is engaged in coal exploration, mining and production, for establishing a coal-based power plant to tap into the indigenous Thar coal reserves for power generation.
The JDA defines the respective responsibilities of each party and marks another key milestone for the KESC following the signing of an MOU with Oracle on 12th December 2009 for the Thar Coal Power Project – a venture that aims to develop a mine-mouth coal-powered generation facility at Block VI Thar Coal Fields having an initial capacity of 300 MW and potential capacity of 1,100MW.
At the signing ceremony, both parties expressed their commitment towards ensuring the successful implementation of the JDA and agreed to coordinate their efforts to promote and develop the project.
The integrated arrangement, as stipulated by the JDA, will enable the KESC to secure a long-term fuel supply from SCEL at competitive prices while SCEL will own and operate the mine which will be integrated with the KESC mine-mouth power plant.
With the signing of this strategically important agreement for coal based power generation by utilising readily available indigenous coal reserves, the KESC aims not only to bridge the prevailing power demand-supply gap, but also to translate this benefit into a lower end-user tariff, as compared to power generation via the 3.7 times more expensive method using furnace oil.
SCEL and Oracle have completed the coal-mine feasibility study and are in the process of carrying out an environment and social impact assessment whereas the KESC is engaged in short-listing proposals received from leading international consulting firms for design of the power plant.
The KESC has already, earlier in the year, signed a 200 million dollar JDA with Bright Eagle Enterprises (BEEGL), a Hong Kong-based investment company sponsored by Chinese and Korean investors. This project aims to achieve the conversion of KESC’s 1260MW (210MW x6) Bin Qasim Power Station to being coal-fired. The feasibility study for this project has been finalized by Knight Piesold. The KESC is in the process of selecting the EPC contractors and simultaneously finalizing the arrangement for coal supply from Indonesia along with provision of indigenous Thar coal.
Govt to cut KESC energy share
The Water and Power Ministry has decided to cut short the electricity supply to Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) by 700 megawatts (MW) for the time being. Talking to reporters on Monday, Water and Power Minister Ahmed Mukhtar said the KESC would get an additional gas supply to generate its own electricity, and that 700MW of electricity would be distributed in other parts of the country. He added that although there was no fuel shortage, logistics and transportation were the main problems. He claimed that total electricity generation would reach 13,500MW by Tuesday. He said Hyderabad, Lahore, Multan and Islamabad face eight, nine, eight and seven hours of load shedding respectively everyday.
