To mitigate the power supply shortfall, Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) has initiated a number of measures as part of crisis management, including supply and demand management besides launching Energy Conservation Campaign to reduce the demand-supply gap.
These measures have resulted in considerable success during the last three months. This information was recently provided in the first meeting of the Power System Operation Committee (PSOC) of the federal government constituted on the directive of Energy Task Force.
The committee, presided over by Pepco Managing Director Munawar Baseer Ahmed, discussed in detail the various ways and means to minimise power supply and demand gap through careful planning, coordination and monitoring while keeping in view the gas supply and water release through Tarbela and Mangla reservoirs.
The Pepco representative said that as a result of low release of water from Tarbela and Mangla reservoirs during the current winter due to less irrigation requirements, the capacity of hydel power generation was reduced from 6400 MW to less than 3,000 MW. On the other hand, the gas supply reduction has reduced in the capacity of thermal generation from 4000 MW to almost 2000 MW.
The committee deliberated in detail on the effect of reduction in gas supply from Sui Southern and Sui Northern and lower water release from Tarbela and Mangla reservoirs during December 2007 - February 2008 on the power supply position of the country and noted with serious concern that gas companies had allocated insufficient gas quota for certain power stations. Due to insufficient allocation several thermal power stations, such as Kapco and those located in Faisalabad, Kotri and Muzaffargarh, were partially shutdown depriving the country of 1,000 MW-1,5OO MW much needed generation capacity.
The committee advised the Sui Southern and Sui Northern to rationalise the gas allocation to generate more in the lean hydel period and set up two sub-committees to look into capacity enhancement through unit rehabilitation and efficiency improvement.
It was also proposed to Irsa to look into the maximum release of water in close coordination with the Ministry of Water and Power and provincial governments so that sudden shortfall is not expressed.