NEPRA approves IGCEP 2021-30 in bid to generate cheaper electricity

IGCEP for period of 10 years spanning over 2021-30 aimed at producing cheaper electricity

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Taking major steps in bid to generate cheaper electricity for consumers, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) approved Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan (IGCEP) on Friday.

While giving approval of IGCEP, the NEPRA announced that the 10-year plan will be revised annually according to the demand for electricity.

It is pertinent to mention here that the IGCEP for a period of 10 years spanning over 2021-30 is aimed at producing cheaper electricity.

According to a handout issued by the NEPRA, as per the 10-year plan, the power production would be revised every year and scientific procedures would be adopted for projection of power production and supply in the country.

After the approval of the IGCEP 2021-30, the electricity would be produced using local resources and power production through furnace oil will be reduced to two percent from 19 per cent.

The power production from RLNG resources would be reduced from 19 per cent to 11 per cent under the plan while use of coal power plants would be reduced from 11 per cent to eight per cent.

In its report, the NEPRA further said that the electricity production under IGCEP would be increased to 60 percent by 2030 and lauded the role of the CCI for the approval of the IGCEP authority.

The NEPRA handout said that the authority considered the revised IGCEP and has observed that according to the revised IGCEP, the GDP of Pakistan is expected to grow at a rate of 5.134% annually over the period 2021-30. Due to the said, the peak demand in the year 2030 will be 37,129 MW against 23,792 MW in 2021.

Further, the total energy consumption in 2030 is expected to reach 207,418 GWh, against 130,652 GWh in 2021. The current installed capacity of the system is 34,776 MW which will become 61,112 MW in the year 2030.