Private Power & Infrastructure Board (PPIB) has asked the Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) to make sure that local coal is provided to the Lucky Electric Power Co. Ltd (LEPCL) 660-MW coal power project.
In this regard PPIB has asked SECMC to provide complete schedule of phase-3 of Thar coal project along with milestones like financial close and COD to supply coal to LEPCL.
660-MW coal power project at Port Qasim was commissioned in March 2022 and is supplying reliable electricity to the national grid. The project was conceived on imported coal in 2015; however, to reduce dependence on imported fuels and burden on the national exchequer, the project was converted by PPIB to operate on local/ Thar coal.
PPIB has highlighted that due to system constraints in power evacuation, three committed IPPs (660-MW Engro, 330-MW Thar Energy, 330-MW ThalNova) operating on Thar Coal Block-II, are not operating on full capacity. Therefore, coal dedicated for three committed PPs (7.6 MPTA) is not fully utilised.
Managing Director PPIB is of the view that since COD of Phase 2, sufficient quantities of coal are available, which can be utilised for LEPCL and testing of imported coal IPPs with 10% Thar Coal blending.
