Lakhra power plant that can produce 50MW at a cheap price of Rs5 per unit, has been shut for the last two months due to lack of provision of water and total apathy on the part of bureaucrats.
According to the officials of the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco), the 50 MW coal based Lakhra power plant is the only plant in Pakistan that generates electricity from coal at the cost of just Rs5 per unit. It has been non-operational for two months because of lack of water despite the fact that Indus River runs only 1.5 kilometers away. The ministry of water and power was duly informed of the problem by the management at the plant, but no action was taken despite the worsening energy crisis in the country.
Lakhra power plant came into operation in 2005 with the capacity to generate 150 MW. Threatened by the use of cheap coal, influential oil lobby immediately swung into action and played pivotal role to foil the project. According to details, it was the former prime minister Shaukat Aziz who sold part of the plant able to generate a 100MW to an oil tycoon who decided not to run the plant but drag it into litigation instead. With the other half worth 50MW also out-of-order since February, the loss to the tax payer who is suffering unbearable heat and load-shedding is incalculable.
