10,973 MW electricity added in system in present tenure: Awais Leghari

ISLAMABAD, April 12 (APP):Minister for Power Division Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari
Thursday informed the National Assembly that the government has added 10,973
MW electricity in the system during the present government’s tenure.
Replying to a question in the National Assembly, the minister
said the government has also maintained the rates of electricity and even controlled
it by 30 to 35 percent despite paying concerned share of over Rs2 per hydel unit
to the provinces.
He said the present installed capacity to generate electricity
is 30,195 MW while the de-rated capacity is 28,440 MW.
He said an average 14,275 MW electricity is being generated
with 1,572 hydel, 2,092 power generation companies (GENCOs) and 19,610 Independent
Power Producers.
The minister said the peak generation was 16,728 MW.
He said the generation depends on demand and plants are dispatched as per
economic merit order.
He said the federal ministry of Power Division has
announced the feeder-wise load management according to the category of
aggregate technical and commercial losses.
He said according to this decision,
high loss feeders undergo load management to save the government kitty from
paying for the theft.
In a written reply, he said several other steps have
been taken to control the power theft including disciplinary cases against employees
who are found involved in theft, combing of high loss feeders with regard to replacement
of low range meters, detection of theft by teams and amendment in the Electricity
Act to enhance the punishment.
He said renewable energy projects with a cumulative capacity
of 1370.1 MW have been added in to the national grid. He added a consumer
friendly regime for net-metering has been established.
He said detailed resources assessment of wind, solar and
biomass throughout the country has been carried out. He said more than 700,000
people have been benefited from solar lighting solutions under the IFC
Lighting Pakistan Programme so far.
He said the use of solar based off-grid applications
such as solar water heaters, solar-water pumps and solar street lights is being
promoted.
He said the government has decided to develop more wind
and solar power projects through competitive bidding in order to avail benefits
of decreasing prices through market competition.
He said in order to restrict the import of sub-standard
solar equipment, quality standards for solar equipment have been developed.