Islamabad - Work on Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) based Balloki Power plant has been completed which will provide 1223 MW electricity to the national grid.
National Power Parks Management Company Limited (NPPMCL), Harbin Electric International Company Limited (HEI) and GE Sunday announced the completion of the Balloki power plant, following the successful conclusion of all commissioning works and performance-related tests.
Rashid Mahmood, CEO of NPPMCL said: “I am proud to announce that the Balloki project is now able to supply up to 1,223 megawatts (MW) of uninterrupted power to the national grid, the equivalent electricity needed to supply up to 2.5 million Pakistani homes. This is the second regasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) power project developed by NPPMCL – the first being the Haveli Bahadur Shah (HBS) power plant, which entered full-fledged combined cycle commercial operations in May 2018. Together, the HBS and Balloki plants have already added over 5.5 billion kilowatt hours of power to the national grid while in the commissioning phase and they will continue to deliver efficient, low cost power for up to 30 years, making a meaningful difference in the lives of the people of Pakistan.”
The contract to set up the plant was awarded by NPPMCL to HEI, which is the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for the project and responsible for its installation works and commissioning schedule. HEI sub-contracted GE to supply two of its HA gas turbines, some auxiliary equipment and technical advisory services.
The plant had earlier realised an impressive milestone by synchronising an HA unit to the grid just 74 days after it was delivered to the project site, the shortest duration in which GE’s HA technology has achieved this milestone anywhere in the world.
“The successful completion of Balloki power plant underlines the strong collaboration among NPPMCL, HEI and GE in driving the commissioning of the project. People from more than 25 countries came together to work on this project. Together, we brought the world’s best to power Pakistan – local project management with Chinese engineering expertise and power generation technologies that were developed by advanced research and development teams based in North America and Europe,” added Mr. Li Chao, Chief Operation Officer of HEI and General Director of 1st Power Division of HEI.
GE’s HA technology has installed the first two most efficient combined-cycle power plants at Chubu Electric Nishi-Nagoya Power Plant Block-1 in Japan and EDF’s Bouchain Power Plant in France. Balloki is the third RLNG project equipped with GE’s HA technology to reach completion in Pakistan, following the Haveli Bahadur Shah and Bhikki power plants.
The three facilities are among the most efficient combined cycle power plants in the world today, adding a total of up to 3,600 MW to Pakistan’s national grid. Efficiency matters as each point of efficiency can generate up to $50 million of fuel savings over 10 years for a 1,000 MW power plant.
“GE is committed to bringing advanced technologies to Pakistan and the successful start of commercial operations at Bhikki, Haveli Bahadur Shah and now Balloki, bringing a total of 3,600 MW to the national grid, is another example of our focus on working with our customers,” Sarim Sheikh, President & CEO of GE Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan.