Hub power Plant upgraded

General Electric (GE) has delivered the first steam turbine for the 1,320 megawatts of coal-fired power project and upgraded services for 1,292MW of Hubco’s plant. The power project (2X660MW) is a priority project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor for which an agreement was signed in 2016. It is located in district Lasbela. GE has helped synchronise it to the grid three months ahead of schedule just 27 months after the project received notice to proceed. “CPHGC is the first overseas thermal power project developed by State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) under the Belt & Road Initiative” said Zhao Yonggang, CEO CPHGC
The power plant is expected to be fully operational by by the mid of 2019. The project will help Pakistan diversify its energy mix and reduce dependence on expensive imported fuels, allowing a significant reduction in the cost of electricity in Pakistan. The 1,292 MW Hubco’s power plant is the country’s first and largest independent power plant and has been the country’s most efficient steam power facility since 1997.
The retrofit of the first steam turbine has been completed, translating into an efficiency increase of more than 1.3 percent, over 3.5 percent fuel savings per kilowatt hour, greater mechanical reliability and lower emissions per megawatt hour of electricity generated. It is pertinent to mention here that GE’s steam turbines equip up to 30 percent of coal-fired steam power plants and 50 percent of nuclear power plants around the world.