In Islamabad, K-Electric has formally requested an extra supply of 60 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD) of natural gas. This request aims to enable the operation of their BQPS-II power plant using gas for a period of 45 days, as opposed to costly furnace oil (FO).
The reason behind this request is the anticipated reduction in power supply from the Jhimpir Wind Farm, which is expected to drop to 200-250 MW during a shutdown period. In a letter addressed to the Minister for Energy, Muhammad Ali, K-Electric's CEO, Syed Moonis Abdullah Alvi, has sought intervention from the highest levels of the Energy Ministry, including the Petroleum Division and Power Division.
During this 45-day period, the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) is planning to shut down its network (500kV K2K3 - NKI circuit) from mid-September to the end of October 2023. This shutdown, coupled with the decrease in power generation from the Jhimpir wind corridor, has resulted in a reduction of 200-250 MW in power supply from the National Grid to K-Electric.
Currently, K-Electric is receiving 30 MMCFD of Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) from Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC). This supply falls significantly short of the 276 MMCFD of gas allocated by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) for K-Electric. The existing supply of 30 MMCFD RLNG is insufficient to run the 560 MW gas-based combined cycle power plant (BQPS-II) at full capacity according to the Economic Merit Order (ECO).
This shortfall is exacerbated by the NTDC outage and fluctuations in power generation in the Jhimpir wind corridor. K-Electric has noted a surge in power demand in its service area during September and October. In September 2023 alone, power demand has exceeded 3,000 MW, with expectations of further increases later in September and throughout October.
Consequently, to address the reduced supply from NTDC and the insufficient gas supply that prevents K-Electric from running BQPS-II at full capacity, CEO Moonis Alvi has outlined two options: burning furnace oil (FO) or implementing additional 2-3 hours of load shedding.
The former would result in higher consumer tariffs and an additional burden on the exchequer amounting to approximately Rs 10 billion during the outage period (equivalent to around Rs 3.5/kWh). K-Electric, which is already dealing with public protests and criticism, has expressed concerns that increased load shedding may lead to public dissatisfaction, negatively impacting business operations.
In conclusion, K-Electric is seeking support from the Government of Pakistan (GoP) and has requested the Minister for Energy's office to urge the relevant authorities to provide an additional 60 MMCFD of gas at adequate pressure during the Jhimpir outage period. This would enable K-Electric to bridge the power gap for Karachi and offer more affordable electricity to consumers while potentially reducing the need for additional load shedding.