Karachi, December 17, 2020: Power generation rose 7 percent YoY to 10,243GWh during Oct-2020. On a sequential MoM basis, the 21 percent decline in generation can be attributed lower power demand during colder months.
During Oct-2020, top contributors to the fuel mix were Hydel (31.0 percent), RLNG (27.8 percent) and Coal (18.7 percent) cumulatively generating 7,941GWh (77.5 percent) to the aggregate generation. Natural Gas ranked fourth in the list with a total generation of 1,145 GWh which makes 11.2 percent of the total. Furnace Oil (FO) contributed less than 1.5 percent towards the aggregate.
With the looming gas crisis and the hiccups in RLNG imports, we believe that FO will regain its position as one of the leading fuel sources in the power sector in the coming months. This would not only bode well for FO based IPPs but also help alleviate the seasonal demand concerns that are faced by refineries during winters, particularly with regards to lifting of FO. Even Oil Marketing Companies could reap some benefits selling the deregulated black oil.
However, we caution that the circular debt (which has now touched a new record of Rs2.3 trillion) continues to haunt the energy chain.
