Karachi, December 20, 2022 (PPI-OT): Pakistan Power: Generation drops in November

CPPA-G released its Energy Purchase Data for the month of November. Power generation for the month has clocked in at 8,367GWh, decreasing by 22%MoM compared to 10,705GWh in October and down by 8%YoY.

Generation from RLNG has decreased by 45%MoM and 41%MoM from Coal based power plants. Hydel based generation has decreased by 21%MoM, although still remaining a significant contributor to the energy mix.

Average cost of generation for the month has dropped down by 34%MoM to PkR6.0/kWh, owing to the decrease in generation from the costly thermal sources of RLNG and imported coal. The largest sources are Hydel, Nuclear, Gas, RLNG and Coal, contributing 30%/28%/14%/12%/12% to the mix.

HUBC has seen another drastic reduction in utilization, with no energy purchased from the Hub and Narowal RFO based plants. Furthermore, owing to the cashflow and inventory crisis, the CPHGC plant remained dormant in the outgoing month. Hence, HUBC’s generation remained concentrated in the Laraib and TEL plants with utilization factors of 66% and 79% respectively.

Power generation should remain relatively flat in December and January according to historical trends. The preference should shift towards Furnace Oil and coal based generation and an uptick in generation from these sources will likely be observed. The average cost of generation usually peaks in the Dec-Jan period, hence we can see an increase from the PkR6.0/kWh observed in November.