The cost of power generation in the country has surged by 60% and the price of a single unit has increased by Rs6.42 in the last year.
According to documents, the cost of generating electricity using diesel, furnace oil, coal, LNG, and gas has significantly increased.
In the last year, the cost of generating electricity on diesel jacked up by Rs3.19 per unit.
Electricity produced using natural gas increased by 62 paisas per unit against last year. In one year, the cost of generating electricity using LNG increased by Rs6.42 per unit — from Rs7.02 to Rs13.44.
In August 2020, furnace oil generated electricity at Rs6 more per unit more in the same month this year. The cost per unit of furnace oil increased from 12 rupees and 23 paisas to 18 rupees and 24 paisas.
The production cost per unit of electricity from coal has jumped from Rs6.03 to Rs9.03.
The imports from Iran in August 2020 stood at Rs10.21 per unit and now at Rs12.35.
The tariff of imported electricity from Iran also increased by two rupees and 14 paisas.
Pakistan hit an all-time high power production level at 16,078 Gigawatt hours (GWh) in a month in August on the back of strong demand for energy from industries amid expansion and households adding appliances and gadgets in their daily usage.
The growth in electricity generation is in line with the government’s policy to make maximum utilization of the surplus power production capacity available in the country, as the excessive installed capacity is causing a rise in the circular debt.
Reon Energy CEO Mujtaba Haider Khan said, “Power production has apparently surged on additional demand coming from increased industrial output, setting up of new industrial units and expansion of the existing ones,”
Khan added that the shift of industries from self-generation through gas-based captive power plants to the national grid station was another reason for the increase in the cost of electricity generation adding that the Industrial sector was not the only area performing well in the wake of the government’s pro-growth and business-friendly policies, but the other two major components of the domestic economy; agriculture and services sectors, also making headway which generated additional demand for electricity in the country.
