120MW solar project: KE receives lowest bid from KAPCO

Power utility K-Electric (KE) received the lowest tariff bid from Kot Addu Power Company Limited (KAPCO) for its 120-megawatt (MW) solar project in Karachi.

KAPCO shared the development in a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday.

“We are pleased to inform you that the company’s bid for the proposed K-Electric solar project to be set-up at Deh Halkani, District West, Karachi, for 120MW is the lowest bid at the proposed bid tariff of 9.8319 PKR/kWh (3.4061 cents/kWh at the reference exchange rate for USD/PKR 288.65),” read the notice.

The competitive bidding for the project was carried out by K-Electric under the NEPRA (Electric Power Procurement Regulations), 2022, said KAPCO.

“The formal award for the project to the company will be subject to approval from NEPRA based on the report of auction and evaluation committee of K-Electric,” it added.

Earlier in October, KE received the “country’s lowest tariff bid” of Rs8.9189 per unit from a Canadian-based renewable energy company for KE’s 220-megawatt (MW) hybrid project.

The development came after KE received seven bids for its 220MW site-neutral hybrid project in Dhabeji, Sindh.

Back then the power utility said it was working on a competitive bidding process in the renewable energy space, following an approval from the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) in the first half of 2024.

“With the launch of these projects, KE is sprinting ahead towards a sustainable and promising future, in line with an aim to enhance share of renewable energy to 30% in its mix by 2030.

“As a next step, KE will submit the bid evaluation report to NEPRA for its approval,” the utility said back then.

KE is a public listed company, and the only vertically integrated power utility in the country supplying electricity to Karachi and its adjoining areas.

The majority shares (66.4%) of the company are owned by KES Power, a consortium of investors including Al-Jomaih Power Limited of Saudi Arabia, National Industries Group (Holding), Kuwait, and the Infrastructure and Growth Capital Fund (IGCF).

Meanwhile, KAPCO is an electricity producer which owns, operate and maintain a multi-fuel-fired power station with fifteen generating units with a nameplate capacity of 1,600 MW in Kot Addu, District Muzaffargarh, Punjab.