Pakistan: IPPs Charge 12 Times More than Dams for Electricity Generation
Details presented in the Senate show wide differences in the cost of electricity generation across Pakistan, with WAPDA dams producing power at as little as Rs. 2.70 per unit while some private independent power producers charge more than Rs. 34 per unit.
According to documents presented to the Senate, the government paid Rs. 186 billion to WAPDA for 34.5 billion units of electricity, while Rs. 1.04 trillion was paid to private IPPs for 49.8 billion units during the period under review.
The documents also showed that more than Rs. 1.3 trillion was paid to IPPs in capacity charges during the current fiscal year.
Tarbela Hydel Power Project was the cheapest source of electricity among the plants listed, generating power at Rs. 2.70 per unit. Mangla Hydel Power Project generated electricity at Rs. 3.75 per unit, while the average cost across all dams stood at Rs. 5.39 per unit.
Chashma Nuclear Power Plant generated electricity at Rs. 6.76 per unit, while power from domestic Thar coal was supplied at Rs. 19.03 per unit.
The cost was significantly higher at plants using imported coal. Sahiwal Coal Power Plant generated electricity at Rs. 34.17 per unit, while Port Qasim’s cost stood at Rs. 32.16 per unit.
Reference Link:- https://propakistani.pk/2026/09/18/ipps-charge-12-times-more-than-dams-for-electricity-generation/
Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance, a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016, working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…
