Altaf Hamid Rao,
MIRPUR (AJK): The Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) hydel electricity generation surged to the record level, as its hydel power stations generated 7591 megawatt (MW) electricity during the peak hours on Monday, WAPDA asserted on Tuesday.
“This is the highest-ever hydel power generation in Pakistan, which became possible mainly due to power generation from Tarbela 4th Extension and Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Projects”, an official statement issued by WAPDA said.
Earlier, the highest-ever generation by WAPDA was 7585 MW, recorded on September 19 last year, it added.
According to the details of yesterday’s hydel generation during the peak hours, Tarbela Hydel Power Station generated 2907 MW, Tarbela 4th Extension 1372 MW, Ghazi Barotha 1450 MW, AJK-based Neelum Jhelum 973 MW, Mangla 210 MW and Warsak 175 MW, while other hydel power stations cumulatively contributed 504 MW to the National Grid, the statement said.
Since installed capacity of WAPDA hydel power stations has risen to 9389 MW with phased completion of its three mega hydropower projects namely the 969 MW-Neelum Jhelum, the 1410 MW-Tarbela 4th Extension, and the 108 MW-Golen Gol, therefore, hydel generation this year is expected to touch new peaks beyond 8000 MW with increased water flows, raised level of water reservoirs and increased water indent by Indus River System Authority (IRSA) in the days to come.
It may be mentioned that WAPDA owns as many as 22 hydel power stations and provides about 31 billion units of hydel electricity on the average annually to the National Grid. The share of hydel generation greatly contributes in lowering the overall electricity tariff for the consumers, as electricity generated through other sources is far costlier than hydel electricity.