Pakistan's power generation falls by 6.5% in September

Power generation in Pakistan dropped by 6.5 percent to 12,487 GWh year-on-year in September 2024, against 13,339 GWh in the same period of last year.

Electricity generation fell by 5.3 percent month-on-month from 13,339 GWh in August.

The experts linked the decline to the increasing trend of solarisation, slowing down the industrial demand.

However, the sharp decline in power generation would increase the capacity payment, and domestic consumers would have to bear this burden.

The cost of generating electricity saw a significant rise of 12.4 percent to Rs8.34/KWh in September, compared to Rs7.42/KWh in September 2023. 

Imported coal, a major contributor to electricity generation, witnessed a 9 percent increase in price.

Tahir Abbas, a research head at Arif Habib Ltd, said that the cheap power generation plant had been shut down due the maintenance, which was a major reason behind the decline in electricity production and forcing the government to import expensive coal to generate energy.

The statistics showed that 4,838 GWh or nearly 38 percent of electricity in September was received via hydropower plants, while 16 percent or 2,039 GWh was obtained from the nuclear power plant.

Renewables like wind, solar and bagasse accounted for a smaller share, at 3.2, 0.8, and 0.3 percent in September.