After spending decades in the darkness of power-outages and electricity rationing, Pakistan is set to export electricity.
Pakistan has decided to export electricity to Tajikistan in winters through the CASA-1000. The trade is being carried out as outlined in Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), a reserve flow clause was added to this agreement and the relevant authorities from both countries would soon engage in negotiations to decide the financials of the deal. Once the CASA-1000 project is set up, Pakistan will import electricity from Tajikistan on the rate of 9 cents per unit in the summer season from May to September; where Pakistan’s shortfall for electricity lies, when domestic and commercial consumers use electric cooling systems to cool down temperatures during the ‘heat-wave’ season. An estimate says that Pakistan will likely import nearly 1,000MW from Tajikistan.
Simultaneously importing and exporting electricity would mean that Pakistan’s foreign reserves would remain unaffected by this particular import.
If we sell Tajikistan electricity in winters, when Tajikistan’s own hydro production falls to zero, at the same 9cent per unit rate then both countries can help the other in fulfilling demand without depleting the foreign reserves of the country.
Authorities claim that Pakistan can produce 30,000MW in winters whereas the demand hovers around 11-13,000MW, allowing Pakistan to export surplus amount to other countries. Right now Pakistan would be able to export only 1,000MW, which is the capacity of the CASA-1000 project. As of now the construction agreement has been signed among four countries under the project CASA-1000. Under the master agreement of CASA-1000, a transmission line would originate in the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan and pass through Afghanistan to reach Pakistan.