Mobilising and generating affordable and environment-friendly energy resources is one of the key challenges for any nation in today's world. Today the top priority for Pakistan is Energy and Power Generation. According to the macroeconomic indicators, the trend of rising energy consumption is likely to continue in the years ahead.
This is great news for all Pakistanis, but at the same time it underlines the urgent need for accelerating our efforts for the development of indigenous energy resources so that supply can keep pace with the growing demand.
As we all know electricity is the prime mover for the growth of the economy. The economic growth of recent years has brought tremendous improvement in the industrial and social sectors. However, the sustenance of the same is more important which will not be possible without adequate power resources. Already, the country is experiencing serious power shortages which reveals the gravity of the situation.
The present power shortfall in Pakistan is estimated at 2000 MW. Conservative projection forecast is 10 % annual increase in demand over the next 25 years. The Projections indicate that under a normal economic growth the electricity demand on a national level will double in the next ten years. Additionally some of the old thermal generating plants need to be replaced.
True to its heritage of being pioneers and pacesetters and keeping the national interests supreme in all its endeavours, the Attock Group of Companies rose to the occasion by conceiving a 165 MW fuel oil fired thermal power plant at Morgah, Rawalpindi and a special purpose company by the name of Attock Gen Ltd (AGL) was incorporated. Based on the available fuel, a detailed feasibility was conducted and approved by the Private Power & Infrastructure Board (PPIB).
The most unique feature of AGL's power plant is its fuel which is environment friendly low sulphur furnace oil which is extracted from the indigenous crude oil processed at the Attock Refinery at Rawalpindi.
Wartsila Finland which is one of the leading reciprocating engine powered power plant manufacturer, will act and serve as the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor for the Project. The electricity generated will be sold to National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) under a Power Purchase Agreement ("PPA").
AGL plant with an ISO gross capacity of 165MW has been designed in a manner to achieve maximum efficiency. The Plant configuration consists of 9 reciprocating 16.5 MW furnace oil fired engine generator sets and 9 heat recovery steam generators (HRSG) to provide steam for one 11.6 MW condensing steam turbine. The concept of 9 engines plus one steam turbine improves the reliability as well as the efficiency of the project.
Also, from a maintenance perspective the said configuration is very flexible as most of the maintenance work related to any unit can be conducted during normal operation without interference with the power production of the other units.
The project is sponsored by The Attock Oil Company and Attock Refinery Limited with share holding of 70% and 30%, respectively.
NEPRA has determined for AGL, a reference levelized tariff which comprises of a typical two-part tariff structure with reference energy purchase price which covers fuel and other variable costs for the energy actually dispatched and a capacity purchase price for other fixed costs and return on equity based on the available capacity for 25 years.
The approved tariff is very competitive as is evident from the recent tariff determinations for the similar technology power projects. Furthermore, AGL would provide additional benefits to power purchaser on account of the following:
* WAPDA would save significantly as there would be no transportation cost charged on the fuel to be consumed by AGL which will be pumped to the power plant through a dedicated pipeline from the adjacent Attock Refinery Limited.
* No upfront infrastructure capital cost charged in tariff as the proposed power plant shall use existing facilities available at Morgah, Rawalpindi. This power plant would offer significant relief locally in the power system of Islamabad area as it would bypass long transmission lines and potential step-down transformer bottlenecks. There is currently no power generation source in this area. Power would be consumed close to the generation source, thus reducing substantial transmission losses.
From the very start, AGL was determined and committed to move on a fast track basis. With the Commercial Operation Date (COD) of August, 2008, this power plant shall, Insha Allah, be the first IPP to start operation under Power Policy-2002 and also the first ever IPP north of Lahore.
This would not have been possible without the investment friendly, progressive and dynamic policies of the government, the support extended to AGL by PPIB, NEPRA and WAPDA, the dedication and hard work of the excellent team of professionals at AGL and above all the personal commitment and support of Dr. Ghaith R. Pharaon, Chairman, Attock Group and Mr. Shuaib A. Malik, Group Regional Chief Executive of the Attock Group.
It is hoped that the AGL's power project, the first oil based power plant to be approved under the Power Policy 2002 shall serve as a role model for others to follow.