The government is embarking on an ambitious plan to enhance the power generation in the country from the existing 22,570 MW to 42,467 MW by 2018.
Sharing the details official sources told APP here that as many as 880 MW including 400 MW solar and 480 MW would be added to the nation grid in 2015, 1590 MW (600 solar, 340 MW Nuclear & 650 MW wind) in 2016, 5,985 MW (Coal 1320 MW, Hydel 3805 MW, Nuclear 340 MW & 520 MW wind) in 2017 and 11,442 MW (11,220 MW coal and 222 MW hydel) in 2018.
The government since its inception completed delayed projects of 2,100MW, which were added to the national grid. Many power projects are near completion and the government would be able to add 13,000MWs to the national grid by 2017.
The sources said that the new energy policy 2013 also envisages increasing power generation from 12,200 MW to 26,800 MW. The average electricity rates would be reduced from Rs14.70 to Rs10 per unit by shifting the burden from thermal to hydel power plants and switching to cheaper alternative fuel such as coal to benefit the asses and reduce the cost of production of goods.
The sources said that currently, the share of hydel power in the total energy mix is hardly 30% and the energy policy aims to boost its share to 70% by building both large and small dams a and carrying out some other initiatives to increase generation from 23,000 MW to 34,824MW. Coal-fired, run-of-the-river and biomass power projects were launched on a priority basis to improve the energy mix, they said.
They said that work has been expedited to import 1,100MW from Iran and 1,000 MW from Central Asian states to bridge the electricity shortfall.
Under the umbrella of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the sources said, two lists of projects were agreed as part of the package. Early harvest projects of 10,400 MW and actively promoted projects of 6,645 MW are included in the overall CPEC energy portfolio.
Groundbreaking of three wind projects of 200 MW, one hydel project of 720 MW and one solar power project of 900 MW had already performed by the Chinese president and PM Nawaz Sharif on 20 April.