By Muhammad Luqman
Another 1223 megawatts of electricity have been added to national grid of energy-deficient Pakistan with the completion of gas-fired Balloki power plant near eastern city of Lahore.
“I am proud to announce that the Balloki project is now able to supply up to 1,223 megawatts (MW) of uninterrupted power to the national grid, the equivalent electricity needed to supply up to 2.5 million Pakistani homes,” Rashid Mahmood, CEO of National Power Parks Management Company Limited (NPPMCL) announced.
This is the second regasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) power project developed by NPPMCL, the first being the Haveli Bahadur Shah (HBS) power plant, which entered full-fledged combined cycle commercial operations in May 2018.
Together, the HBS and Balloki plants have already added over 5.5 billion kilowatt hours of power to the national grid while in the commissioning phase and they will continue to deliver efficient, low cost power for up to 30 years, making a meaningful difference in the lives of the people of Pakistan.
“The successful completion of Balloki power plant underlines the strong collaboration among NPPMCL, HEI and GE in driving the commissioning of the project. People from more than 25 countries came together to work on this project,” said Li Chao, Chief Operation Officer of HEI and General Director of 1st Power Division of HEI.
GE has supported the development of energy, transportation and healthcare infrastructure in Pakistan for more than 50 years. Today, GE-built technologies can generate the equivalent power needed to supply up to 25 percent of the country’s electricity.
LNG-fired power projects at Balloki, Haveli Bahadur Shah and Bhikki with a total power generation capacity of over 3600 megawatts were launched by the former government led by ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to help Pakistan wriggle out of the energy crisis.
