ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) delivered 1917.830 million units of hydel electricity to the national grid during June 1-15, registering an increase of 300.384 million units.
Official sources told APP here that as many as 1617.446 million units were supplied to the national grid during the corresponding period last year. They said that from June 1 to 15, the maximum hydel share during peak hours was 6080 megawatt (MW).
This increased hydel contribution is the result of efficient operation and maintenance of WAPDA hydel power stations, availability of more water in the reservoirs due to better hydrological conditions and IRSA’s indent for release of water from reservoirs in view of provinces’ demand for irrigation.
The increase of about 18.57 per cent in hydel electricity generation during the first fifteen days of the current month has not only helped mitigate power shortage in the country but also stabilize electricity tariff.
According to the generation data of June 2015, maximum units of hydel electricity i.e. 132.938 million were delivered to the National Grid on June 7, while minimum 124.765 million units were contributed on June 10.
The contribution of hydel generation by WAPDA is expected to increase in the days to come because of high water head to be available in Tarbela and Mangla reservoirs and enhanced water outflows from the dams.
It is pertinent to mention that hydel power generation capacity of WAPDA stands at about 7000 MW – about one third of the total installed capacity in the country.
It is a matter of great satisfaction that despite some of hydel power stations being as old as 50 years, the generation capacity of WAPDA has stayed intact due to proper maintenance and efficient operation of these stations by WAPDA.
WAPDA contributes more than 30 billion units of low-cost electricity to the National Grid on the average every year. Hydel electricity plays a pivotal role in keeping the power tariff at present level.
According to data of January 2015, per unit generation cost of hydel electricity is merely Rs. 2.62 on an average as compared to Rs.7.43 for gas, Rs.12.91 for coal, Rs.12.98 for biogas, Rs.17.58 for furnace oil, Rs.23.43 for diesel (HSD), Rs. 5.98 for nuclear and Rs.11.62 for wind.
As per data the basket price of electricity in the system stands at Rs.10.03 per unit.
