Total power generation in Pakistan witnessed a significant decline of 23% on a yearly basis to 10,010 GWh in April 2023, compared to 12,960 GWh in same period last year.

“Power generation down by 23% YoY during April 2023, the highest decline since available data (Jul’12),” said Arif Habib Limited (AHL) on Friday.

On a monthly basis, power generation improved 15%, up from 8,741 GWh in March 2023.

Meanwhile, the total cost of generating electricity in the country remained unchanged at Rs10.24 KWh in April 2023, on a year-on-year (YoY) basis.

On a month-on-month (MoM) basis, the cost of power generation increased by 25%, as compared to Rs8.22 KWh registered in March.

Electricity generation cost falls 11% year-on-year in March

“On a MoM basis, the increase in fuel cost is witnessed mainly due to a decline in nuclear, and hydel-based generation along with a 41% and 9% MoM rise in coal and furnace oil (FO)-based cost of generation,” said AHL.

When looking at the first ten months of the 2022-23 financial year, power generation decreased by 10% YoY to 103,593 GWh compared to 114,660 GWh a year prior.

Moreover, the cost of power generation during the first ten months of the ongoing fiscal year was up 13%, from Rs8.2 in 10MFY22 to Rs9.3 in 10MFY23.

Data on generation mix revealed that electricity generation decline on a yearly basis was led by hydel 1,872 GWh, and Residual Fuel Oil (RFO) 221 GWh, which decreased by 22% and 86%, respectively.

Power generation from gas and Re-gasified Liquid Natural Gas (RLNG) sources stood at 1,189 GWh and 2,418 GWh respectively, showing a decrease of 7% and 4%, respectively, on a yearly basis.

In April, nuclear and RLNG emerged as the leading sources of power generation, accounting for 43% of the generation mix combined.

Moreover, electricity generation from renewable sources including solar improved by 44% on a yearly basis to 126 GWh, while generation from other renewable sources such as wind declined by 31% on a yearly basis to 323 GWh.