ISLAMABAD   -  Approximately 75 per cent (Rs1.563 trillion) of the total capacity payments of Rs2.091 trillion, projected for the Fiscal Year 2024-25, will be paid to hydropower, nuclear and imported coal-based power projects.

The share of the remaining energy sources including gas, RLNG, furnace oil, solar, wind and bagasse-based power plants in the capacity payment has been projected to be just 25 percent or Rs527.602 billion during the ongoing fiscal year, official documents reveal.

According to the documents, the biggest chunk of Rs 465.704 billion or 22.3 percent will go to nuclear power plants, followed by Rs 446.401 billion or 21.4 per cent will be absorbed by hydro power plants.

The imported coal plants, most of them established under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor is third in the row with Rs 395.402 billion or 18.9 per cent in terms of its share in capacity payments during the ongoing fiscal year, the documents reveal.

It has been projected that the capacity payments of Rs 255.891 billion or 12.2 per cent will be paid to the power projects established on the Thar Coal project.

The capacity payments of Rs 168.041 billion and Rs 168.031 billion (8 per cent) will respectively go to RLNG and wind power plants.

The power plants based on furnace oil are projected to consume Rs 81.333 billion (3.9 per cent) of the capacity payments, gas based power plants will get Rs 61.214 billion (2.9 per cent), solar Rs 41.630 billion (2 per cent), while bagasse will get Rs 6.9 billion (0.3 per cent).

It is worth to mention here that in year 2023-24, the consumers had paid Rs 1.93 trillion capacity payments to around 101 IPPs, including Rs 46 billion to two producers with zero generation, and Rs 370 billion to three plants for generating power at 15 percent load factors.

The capacity payments is considerably enhancing the per unit cost of the electricity. In the case of ROUSCH power plant the capacity payment was Rs 706.96 per unit, while the electricity purchase price was only Rs 38.18 per unit, taking the per unit cost to Rs 745.05 per unit.

Similarly, the per unit cost of electricity generated by China Hub power plant was Rs 349.92 per unit, which includes Rs 300 per unit of capacity payment, while the remaining is the energy purchase price, the documents reveals.

Out of 101 IPPs, 52 percent of power plants are owned by the Government and 28 per percent are owned by Pakistan’s Private Sector, 40 families/groups, while the remaining are owned by the international investors, mostly Chinese.