KARACHI: Pakistan’s overall power generation in January 2017 clocked in at 6,914 GWh, down 4.0 percent compared with December 2016 and up 2.0 percent compared with January 2016, official numbers suggest.
The lower generation can be attributed to lower electricity off-take during the winter season, Hashim Sohail said in a report issued by Topline Securities.
“Fuel mix, as expected, remained tilted towards thermal based generation in January 2017, with Furnace Oil (FO) based power capturing 48 percent of the generation mix followed by gas with 26 percent. Hydel generation on the other hand remained subdued, constituting 7.0 percent of the country’s power generation, as seasonality factor kicked in due to lower water levels in the winter season,” Sohail added.
Due to increased share of high cost thermal based power, fuel cost clocked in at Rs8.6 per Kilowatt hour (KWh), up 38 percent MoM, while on YoY basis average fuel cost per KWh surged by 26 percent.