ISLAMABAD: National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has approved levelized tariff of 10 cents for unit (kWh) for Municipal Solid Waste Power Plants based on 25 year operational period with overall capacity cap of 250 MW wherein share of each province and Federal Territory have been kept at 50 MW each. This first ever Upfront Tariff for generation of electricity through MSW have been determined after consultative process with stakeholders i e Punjab Power Development Board, Alternative Energy Development Board, CPPA-G, Anwar Kamal Law Associates, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Resources, Ministry of Climate Change etc.
In Pakistan roughly more than 20 million tons of municipal solid waste is generated with annual growth rate of 2.4%. All major cities i.e. Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta etc are facing enormous challenges in tackling the problem of urban waste. Thousands of people die every year due to waste-related diseases.
Considering the environmental issues, most of the countries in the region have already announced the generation tariff for Municipal Waste Power Plants and they are getting dual benefits i.e. disposing of garbage and generation of electricity through garbage.
According to an official statement, Nepra’s initiative regarding upfront tariff for MSW power plants will not only provide electricity to the national grid but will also create employment opportunities and play a vital role in economic growth of the country. The assessment of the tariff has been made on the basis of project cost of $ 3.5 million per MW keeping in view the available reference prices in the region.
