Islamabad, Sep 19: In August 2024, Pakistan saw a significant decline in power generation, falling by 17.4% year-over-year (YoY) to 13,179 gigawatt-hours (GWh) and 11.4% month-over-month (MoM) from 14,880 GWh in July 2024.
This decline is expected to increase capacity charges for the second quarter of FY25. Despite a decrease in fuel costs by 9.3% YoY to Rs. 7.49 per unit, power generation efficiency varied across different sources.
Key Points:
- Power Generation Decline: Power generation decreased by 17.4% YoY to 13,179 GWh in August 2024, and 11.4% MoM from 14,880 GWh in July. For the first two months of FY25, it fell by 8.9% YoY to 28,059 GWh compared to 30,798 GWh in the same period last year.
- Generation by Source:
- Hydel: Contributed 40.7% of the total power. Hydel generation decreased by 10.7% YoY to 5,362 GWh but saw a slight 0.4% increase MoM from 5,341 GWh.
- Nuclear: Contributed 16.6% of the total. Nuclear generation increased by 7.3% YoY to 2,190 GWh and 10.2% MoM from 1,988 GWh.
- RLNG: Contributed 15% of the total. RLNG generation dropped by 23.2% YoY to 2,106 GWh and 29.1% MoM from 2,966 GWh.
- Coal (imported): Decreased by 20.3% YoY to 1,306 GWh and 13.3% MoM from 1,506 GWh.
- Fuel Costs: Fuel costs decreased by 9.3% YoY and 16.4% MoM to Rs. 7.49 per unit in August 2024, down from Rs. 8.27 per unit in August 2023 and Rs. 8.96 per unit in July 2024. Furnace oil was the most expensive at Rs. 30.32 per unit, while nuclear fuel remained among the least expensive.
The decline in power generation and variation in fuel costs highlight ongoing challenges in Pakistan’s energy sector, including potential increases in capacity charges and the need for efficient resource management.
