Nearly 76 percent of the country's total hydel potential (or 45,861-megawatt) of 59,796-megawatt can be harnessed in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan, a research paper prepared by Sarhad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI) said on Sunday.
According to statistics obtained from the Private Power Infrastructure Board (PPIB), Punjab had a generation potential of 7,291MW, whereas Azad Kashmir had a reported potential of 6,450MW.
Although hydropower is the cheapest source of electricity generation, but about 89 per cent of this potential still remains untapped. At present, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is generating just 3,849MW of electricity from its operational hydropower projects, while projects under implementation have the potential to generate 9,482MW.
The provincial government is carrying out work on as many as 28 such projects. Feasibility studies of 77 projects have been completed while raw sites with a potential for generating 8,930MW of electricity have also been identified in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
In Gilgit-Baltistan, 133 projects are operational while work on projects with a capacity to generate 11,876MW is under way. Of these, 40 are in progress under the auspices of the government of Gilgit-Baltistan. Similarly, feasibility studies of solicited sites with a potential of 534MW have been completed and raw sites with a potential of 8,542MW have also been identified.
Punjab is generating 1,699MW electricity from its operational projects and work on others with 720MW capacity is under way. Projects with a potential of 308MW are under implementation at the provincial level while 720MW projects at federal level. Feasibility studies of hydropower projects of 3,606MW potential have been completed while 238MW raw sites have also been identified.
In Azad Kashmir 1,039MW electricity is generated from operational projects while work on projects with a potential of generating 1,231MW electricity are under way in the public sector. Projects with a potential of 92MW and 3,172MW capacity are being implemented at provincial and federal level, respectively.
Sindh conducted feasibility study of solicited sites with a capacity of 67MW, besides identifying raw sites of 126MW potential while Balochistan has completed feasibility study of only one project with 1MW potential.
The total installed capacity of hydropower projects in Pakistan is reported to be 6,720MW in 2010.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa had the most installed capacity - 3,849 MW (57 per cent of the country's total installed capacity) followed by Punjab with 1,699MW installed capacity (25 per cent). Azad Kashmir had an installed capacity of 1,039MW (15 per cent).
The development of hydropower resources in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is vested with Sarhad Hydropower Development Organisation (Shydo), established in 1986 to identify and explore the hydel potential of the province.
In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, of the total installed capacity of 3,849 MW, the bulk of capacity - 3,762 MW - was operated by Wapda, one 86MW project is managed by Shydo and 1MW was managed by an Independent Power Producer (IPP).
The potential of hydro development had two major categories; hydro power generation with water reservoirs and without water reservoirs. Wapda is the designated body to undertake projects of hydropower generation where water reservoirs are integral part of projects. Shydo undertakes projects for development where water reservoirs are not required.
The government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has made concerted efforts to speed up work on development of hydropower resources, which is evident from Shydo's short-, medium- and long-term plans.
In line with priorities of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government, Shydo has developed a fast-track hydro development plan for 24 projects with a total capacity of 2,156MW with an investment outlay of Rs350 billion. This plan includes three projects for 56MW as short-term, eight medium-term projects with a capacity of 600MW as and 13 long-term projects with generation capacity of 1,500MW.