Tariff for 300MW coal-power plant

Gwadar project: NEPRA sets tariff for 300MW coal-power plant

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has allowed a Chinese company to collect a tariff of Rs6.96 per unit for its 300-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Gwadar, setting aside concerns of Balochistan’s energy department.

CIHC Pak Power Company Limited (CPPCL) is setting up the coal-fired power plant.

According to the petitioner, keeping in view the strategic importance of Gwadar to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the anticipated rapid growth, the CPEC Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) had decided in its sixth meeting, held in Beijing in December 2016, that a 300MW imported coal-fired power project must be developed on a fast track in Gwadar.

The JCC nominated China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Group (CCCG), for undertaking the project.

According to the petitioner, in the seventh JCC meeting held on November 21, 2017, it was decided that the project would be undertaken by CCCC Industrial Investment Holding Company Limited (CIHC). The sponsors incorporated CIHC Pak Power Company Limited (CPPCL) as the special purpose company to develop the project.

The project is proposed to have two units of 150MW consisting of two super high-pressure boilers, two steam turbines and two generators. The boilers will be sub-critical and will be ignited with the help of pulverised coal imported from South Africa or other sources through Gwadar Port. From the port, the coal will be sent via trucks to coal yards inside the complex. The project will draw water from the Arabian Sea for cooling and other industrial and domestic uses as the site has no other water resources.

The project sponsors had estimated the project cost at $542.36 million and levelised tariff at 8.91 cents per unit.