Power generation in Pakistan clocked in at 8,023 GWh (10,784 MW) in March 2024, down 8.2% as compared to the same period of the previous year.

Back in March 2023, power generation stood at 8,741 GWh (11,749 MW).

The year-on-year (YoY) decline in power generation was owed to lower output from Re-gasified Liquid Natural Gas (RLNG) (7.1%), coal (18.8%), and gas (28.2%), said Arif Habib Limited (AHL), a brokerage house, on Thursday.

On a monthly basis, power generation increased by 12.5%, as compared to 7,130 GWh registered in February.

The increase was attributed to improved generation from hydel (25.5%), nuclear (24.7%), and RLNG (14.3%).

However, in 9MCY23 (July to March), power generation went down by 1.2% YoY to 92,450 GWh compared to 93,582 GWh in the same period last year.

The decline was owed to lower generation from nuclear (10.6%) and gas (24.5%).

YoY: Pakistan’s power generation cost jumps, generation dips in February

During March 2024, the actual power generation was 10.4% lower than the reference generation. “This decline in generation is expected to result in higher capacity charges for the 4QFY24 quarterly tariff adjustment (QTA),” it added.

Meanwhile, the total cost of generating electricity in the country increased marginally by 1.1%, hitting Rs8.31 KWh in March 2024 compared to Rs8.22 KWh registered in the same period of the previous year.

The rise in cost is attributed to the increase in power generation cost from local coal, which jumped to Rs16.78 KWh, a jump of 112.5%, as compared to Rs7.9 KWh in SPLY.

In March, hydel was the leading source of power generation, accounting for 27.6% of the generation mix, to become the largest source of electricity generation in the country.

This was followed by nuclear, which accounted for 25.8% of the overall generation, ahead of RLNG, which accounted for 20.7% of the power generation share.

Among renewables, wind, solar and bagasse generation amounted to 2.6%, 1.4% and 1%, respectively, of the generation mix.