Business

Power generation cost surges 20% year-on-year in Nov amid drop in cheap energy

Published

1 year ago

Farwa

Higher cost mainly due to decline in nuclear, wind-based generation.
Fuel cost for local coal-based generation increased by 55% y/y.
Rising cost of power generation added to consumers’ woes.

KARACHI: Amid a drop in nuclear and renewable energy sources, the country’s power generation cost jumped by nearly 20% year-on-year in November as the country relied more on expensive fossil fuels, The News reported citing data from a brokerage house on Thursday.

The average cost of electricity production rose to Rs7.17 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) last month, compared with Rs5.99 a year earlier, an increase of 19.7%, according to Arif Habib Limited (AHL).

The brokerage house said the higher fuel cost was mainly due to a decline in nuclear, wind and solar-based generation, which are cheaper and cleaner than coal, gas and oil.

“Additionally, the fuel cost for local coal-based generation increased by 55% year-on-year. Along with this, the fuel cost for Regasified Liquid Natural Gas (RLNG) and gas-based also increased by 17% year-on-year and 38% year-on-year, respectively,” it added.

The rising cost of power generation has added to the woes of Pakistan’s consumers, who are already grappling with high inflation and sluggish economic growth.

However, on a monthly basis, the power generation cost fell 13.2% in November, as compared to an average cost of Rs8.26 in October, when the country faced a severe gas shortage that forced it to use more expensive furnace oil for electricity production.

Power generation in the country dropped 9.8 % year-on-year to 7,547 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in November, down from 8,367 GWh a year ago. The year-on-year decrease in power generation was mainly due to a 32.8% fall in nuclear power output, which stood at 1,572 GWh in November.

Apart from nuclear, the year-on-year decrease was also attributed to a decline in RLNG (21.1%), gas (41.5%), and wind (6.2%) generation. On a monthly basis, power generation decreased by 21.2%, as compared to 9,572 GWh in October.

During the first five months of the current fiscal year (July-November), power generation increased by 1.8 %year-on-year to 61,258 GWh, compared with 60,153 GWh in the same period last year.

In November, hydel was the leading source of power generation, accounting for 36.5% of the generation mix, followed by nuclear (20.8%) and local coal (13.1%).

Among renewables, wind, solar and bagasse generation amounted to 2%, 0.7% and 0.4% of the generation, respectively.

Business

The total amount of Pakistan’s liquid foreign reserves is $15.95 billion.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

As of February 14, Pakistan’s total liquid foreign reserves were $15,947.9 million, with the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) holdings being $11,201.5 million.

Official figures for the week ending February 14, 2025, show that the central bank’s liquid foreign exchange reserves rose by $35 million to $11,201.5 million.

Commercial banks maintained net foreign reserves of $4,746.4 million during the period under review, according to the breakdown of foreign reserves.

The nation’s total liquid foreign reserves as of the week ending February 07, 2025, were $15,862.6 million.

Of these, the central bank held $11,166.6 million in foreign reserves, while commercial banks kept $4,696 million in net reserves.

Business

In January 2025, RDA inflows reach 9.564 billion USD.

Published

2 weeks ago

Farwa

Remittances under the Roshan Digital Account (RDA) increased from US $9.342 billion at the end of 2024 to US $9.564 billion by the end of January 2025.

The most recent data issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) revealed that remittance inflows in January totaled US$222 million, compared to US$203 million in December and US$186 million in November 2024.

Millions of Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRPs), including those who own a Non-Resident Pakistan Origin Card (POC), desire to engage in banking, payment, and investing activities in Pakistan using these accounts, which offer cutting-edge banking options.

Nearly 778,697 accounts were registered under the scheme by the end of January 2025, according to the data.

By the end of January, foreign-born Pakistanis had contributed US $59 million to Roshan Equity Investment, US $479 million to Naya Pakistan Certificates, and US $799 to Naya Pakistan Islamic Certificates.

Business

FBR lowers Karachi’s built-up structure property valuation rates

Published

2 weeks ago

Farwa

A year-by-year breakdown of the depreciation value of residential and commercial built-up properties is included in the updated property valuation rates for Karachi that the FBR has announced.

The notification said that built-up structural values on residential property will be gradually reduced.

A residential home’s built-up structure, which is five to ten years old, will lose five percent of its worth.

In a similar vein, constructions between the ages of 10 and 15 will lose 7.5% of their value, while those between the ages of 15 and 25 would lose 10%. Built-up structures that are more than 25 years old will be valued similarly to an open plot.

Furthermore, age will also be used to lower the valuation of built-up properties, such as apartments and flats.

Structures that are five to ten years old will depreciate by ten percent, while those that are ten to twenty years old will depreciate by twenty percent. A 30% depreciation will be applied to properties that are 20 to 30 years old, while a 50% reduction will be applied to those that are above 30 years old.

In terms of commercial built-up properties, buildings that are 10 to 15 years old will lose 5% of their value, while those that are 15 to 25 years old will lose 8%. The value of properties that are more than 25 years old will drop by 10%.

In contrast, there would be a 15% boost in the value of commercial properties in the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) that face any Khayaban.