Islamabad: The 150MW Local coal fired Lakhra power plant which has been out of operation for the past 6 Months has caught the attention of Senate standing committee. The Committee has asked the government to make it operational on a priority basis. A Subcommittee has been established under the leadership of Senator Nauman Wazir Khattak which will submit proposals to run the project after consultation with experts in the field and National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA)
Managing Director Lakhra Power Company informed the committee that this plant has caused about Rs 1 Billion in losses to the government in the last 6 months. Chief Engineer Lakhra said that the efficiency of the plant is 25 percent. He said that the plant has not attained the efficiency fixed by NEPRA.
During the session Senator Nauman Wazir Khattak raised a very critical point saying that power plants that use imported fuel are being preferred over local fuel-fired plants, which is why they are becoming dysfunctional. He urged the Power Division to run the plant with local coal and pointed out that Nepra has granted a tariff of Rs 4 per unit to this plant whereas solar projects got a tariff of Rs 24 per unit.
During the last 6 months circular debt has increased by Rs 460 billion to which electricity theft has been a huge contributing factor.
