In a bid to produce cheaper electricity up to 5,000 megawatts (MW) via solar plants, the government has initiated the spadework and is willing to start generation in one and a half years’ time. The initiative will decrease the average power tariff by nearly 20 percent.
The officials from the Ministry of Energy said that solar electricity will be used during the daytime, which will help the government to close down the inflated power generation of 5,000MW through thermal power plants. The generation of cheaper 5,000 MW of solar energy would not only lessen the oil import bill but also bring down the average electricity tariff by around 20 percent, according to the officials.
Meanwhile, the secretary Power Division confirmed the development and said, “We are working on the plan to generate 4,500-5,000 MW of electricity through solar plants in more than a year’s time.”
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The implementation policy for rapid construction of solar power plants will be ensured, so the government could stop the expensive electricity generation during daytime from 50 percent load-based power plants, cited the secretary. Though, during nighttime, the load power plants would run on the full scale.
Moreover, he highlighted that the electricity tariff is about 3 to 3.5 cents per unit however the government would hold the international competitive bidding (ICB) for different solar power projects with an electricity generation capacity of 5,000 MWs.
The related authorities, he added, would try to make the solar plants close to the grids to evade extra costs, and, in this regard, they have already planned to install solar plants nearby RLNG-based power plants at Trimmu and Haveli Bahadur Shah.
“We will utilize grids of RLNG-based power plants for evacuation of electricity from solar plants as both RLNG-based power plants will not operate during daytime.”
Furthermore, the electricity in the country is mostly produced through furnace oil, LNG, and coal, which is no longer sustainable for the power sector itself, thus causing a substantial increase in the cost of doing business in the country. The cost of these fuels has jacked up in the international market largely because of the Russia-Ukraine war.
