ISLAMABAD: Consequent upon the improved hydrological conditions and availability of water, the first unit of Tarbela 4th Extension Hydropower Project has started electricity generation.
The unit, which is in its reliability period nowadays, has been providing 335MW of electricity to the national grid, which will be gradually increased to its maximum capacity of 470 MW, said a press release.
Though this unit was completed in April, it could not start electricity generation due to non-availability of water due to fewer inflows in River Indus at Tarbela in the current year. The second unit of Tarbela 4th Extension Hydropower Project was also been put into wet commissioning three days ago. This unit is scheduled to enter its reliability period in the first week of July.
It is worth mentioning here that under the 1,410MW Tarbela 4th Extension Hydropower Project, three electric power generating units – each of them having a capacity of 470MW – have been installed at the tunnel four of Tarbela Dam.
The extension project is a component of least-cost energy generation plan being implemented by WAPDA on priority to meet electricity requirements in the country and increase the ratio of hydel electricity in the national grid to stabilize electricity tariff for the consumers.
With the completion of the project, the generation capacity of the existing Tarbela Hydel Power Station will increase to 4,888MW from the existing 3,478MW.
The project will provide 3.84 billion units of electricity to the national grid per annum. Annual benefits of the project have been estimated at Rs30 billion and the project will pay back its cost in just three years.
MORE POWER CUTS:
Meanwhile, the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) has said that the residents of Attock, Taxila, Wah Cantt and surrounding areas are facing more outage due to overloading of power transformers at Tarbela dam.
According to IESCO’s spokesman, the IESCO and PEPCO management are well aware with this situation and in touch with WAPDA authority for early solution of this issue.