The Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) said it had a satisfying year for its hydropower and water sectors, as it increased its low-cost, clean and green electricity generation by 7 percent in 2023.

WAPDA produced about 34 billion units of hydel electricity in 2023, up from 31.8 billion units in 2022, saving the national exchequer about Rs106 billion that would have been spent on importing expensive fossil fuels, according to a spokesperson.

"The country witnessed increased generation of hydel electricity, while under-construction WAPDA projects in water and hydropower sectors also achieved major milestones in 2023," the power utlity said in a statement.

"WAPDA generated about 34 billion units of low-cost, clean and green hydel electricity in 2023, which is 2.2 billion units more than that of the last year. This increased hydel generation helped national exchequer save about Rs106 billion, if same quantum of electricity was to be generated through expensive, imported fossil fuels."

WAPDA's hydel electricity, which costs only Rs3.51 per unit, accounted for about 30 percent of the total electricity supplied to the national grid in 2023.

WAPDA owns and operates 22 hydel power stations with a combined capacity of 9,459 megawatts, including the 969-megawatt Neelum Jhelum project that was completed in 2018.

The statement said the Tarbela dam, the country's largest hydropower plant, generated 12.9 billion units of electricity in 2023, followed by the Ghazi Barotha project with 6.8 billion units, the Mangla dam with 4.7 billion units, Neelum Jhelum with 1 billion unit, Warsak with 0.8 billion units, Chashma with 0.9 billion units, and rest of WAPDA hydel power stations cumulatively generated 2.5 billion units.

The statement said year 2023 also augured well for under-construction WAPDA projects.

"Despite economic crunch, construction work on eight WAPDA projects continued unabated," it added.

"WAPDA achieved the landmark of river diversion at Dasu Hydropower Project in February 2023, while diverted River Indus at Diamer Basha Dam through test-run. WAPDA is likely to achieve the milestone of river diversion at Mohmand Dam Project in next three to four months."

WAPDA is developing eight mega projects for water, food and energy security of the country, which are scheduled to be completed from 2024 to 2028-29 in phases.

These projects will add 9.7 million acre feet to the gross water storage capacity of the country, and increase WAPDA's hydel generation to 20,000 megawatts, with an addition of about 10,000 megawatts in the next five years.

by thenews