K-Electric to add 4,283MW in generation capacity

KARACHI: K-Electric on Tuesday unveiled a plan to add 4,283 megawatts to its generation capacity and improve average fleet efficiency to 43.3 percent from 37 percent over the next 10 years.

The company will enhance its transmission network by 28 percent and increase the capacity of power transformers by 3,370 megavolt amperes (MVA) till the fiscal year of 2025/26, it said during a public hearing on its integrated multi-year tariff, organised by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority.

According to its 10-year business plan, the utility’s transmission and distribution losses will be cut to 13.8 percent in FY26 from 23.7 percent in FY15. The distribution network will be added with over 1,000 new feeders, and more than 4,500 kilometres of 11-kilovolt underground and overhead circuits.

“Pakistan has very little precedent for large scale private sector investment in the transmission sector especially in greenfield projects,” the KE’s spokesperson said. “The vertically integrated nature of the tariff along with long-term regulatory certainty is necessary for such a landmark and unprecedented investments in the sector and the country.”

KE has been operating on an integrated multi-year tariff and through its previous tariff the company invested Rs120.7 billion. During FY09 to FY15, the utility managed to add 1,037 MW in its generation capacity, besides adding 768 MVA in the transmission capacity.

“Through these investments, the utility was able to reduce transmission and distribution losses from 35.9 percent to 23.7 percent,” the spokesperson said. “Most importantly, in 2009, there was load shedding across the board and only 24 percent of the city was exempted. Today, 61 percent of the city as well as all industrial zones in Karachi are exempt from load shedding.”

KE supplies electricity to around 3.5 million consumers. It provides free or subsidised electricity to healthcare and welfare organisations. The utility has also rolled out a development project with an estimated investment of Rs 5 billion to empower one million lives in 200 communities by June 2017.

--Originally published in The News