News
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Energy crisis seems artificial, says SC* Court observes power plants generating below their capacity
* PEPCO MD says necessary steps being taken to enhance power generation
ISLAMABAD: Hearing a suo motu case regarding the unprecedented load shedding in the country, the Supreme Court termed the ongoing energy crisis a result of artificial factors, and noted that power plants are producing below their capacity.
A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and including Justice Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmed and Justice Gulzar Ahmed, noted on Tuesday that there could be a genuine problem, “but now it seems that there was an involvement of artificial factors, particularly the high inefficiency of the Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) (Private) Limited and the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) Limited officials”.
The court said that production of power plants below their capacity could be one of the reasons of severe load shedding in the country.
The court was informed that the Guddo Thermal Power Plant’s total capacity was 1,650MW, but it was presently producing 775MW, while the Jamshoro Thermal Power Plant had a capacity to produce 1,000MW, but it was generating only 300MW.
Moreover, Muzafargarh plant’s capacity was 1,100MW, but it was presently producing only 700MW.
PEPCO Managing Director Zargham Ghulam Ishaq Khan informed the court that the deterioration in production was due to faults in the machines and that spare parts had to be changed.
The court was informed that after several steps, about 975MW had been added to the current system, which would reduce the intensity of load shedding in the country.
He told the court that the technical audit of some of the thermal plants had been carried out and the machines shall be made functional to their full capacity.
He maintained that during the last couple of days, power generation had dropped drastically due to various technical reasons.
He informed the court that due to the non-availability of oil and gas to the power sector, the current power crises had gotten worse. He said that arrangements had been made for the supply of furnace oil to the plants, adding that natural gas would also be supplied to the companies so that maximum output was generated.
About the hydroelectric power plants, the MD said 60% to 70% of their capacity had been increased, and they were presently generating 3,900MW. The generation capacity could further be increased if discharge from Tarbela, Mangla and glacier melting was increased, he added.
PEPCO engineer and consultant Raziuddin, who appeared voluntarily, told the Supreme Court that the company and the NTDC needed a fulltime managing director rather making makeshift arrangements. He said that PEPCO had sufficient capability to make the units functional. He said the Gudu Power Plant had the installed capacity of 1,650MW, while it was currently generating 775MW due to fault in various machines, which needed to be fixed. He gave the example of a machine, stating that only fixing of one machine could add 100MW of electricity to the system.
The chief justice questioned that whether any kind of technical audit was being done on these machines or not.
The PEPCO MD replied that they had already completed the audit of all the machines and they had also fixed machines number 5 and 7 at Gudu, adding that the current output of the plant was 835MW and not 775MW.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry remarked that had the current capacity of all the powerhouses been increased, the situation would have been different.
He said that Jamshoro Power Plant, after necessary repair work, was ready to generate 750MW. The CJ asked why were they not generating 750MW from Jamshoro, on which the MD said that due to the deficiency of furnace oil, they could not go ahead with the new additional capacity. He further added that power generation addition would be about 975MW after the new steps by the PEPCO.
The bench adjourning the case for two weeks, and said it would appreciate if Razi extended his cooperation to the PEPCO MD. staff report/agencies
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk