Pakistan has over 35,758 MW of installed thermal power generation capacity across more than 100 thermal power facilities. This includes conventional thermal, coal-fired, RLNG, and biomass cogeneration plants operated by government entities (GENCOs), independent power producers (IPPs), and K-Electric. Note that this represents only thermal generation capacity and does not include hydro, nuclear, solar, or wind power.

Pakistan’s thermal power generation includes:

• Conventional Thermal Power Plants: Running on natural gas, furnace oil, and diesel using steam turbines
• Coal-Fired Thermal Plants: Using both local (Thar) and imported coal
• RLNG Thermal Plants: Combined cycle plants using re-gasified liquefied natural gas
• Bagasse Cogeneration Plants: Thermal generation from sugar mill waste
• Waste-to-Energy: Solid waste and biogas thermal power stations

Note: This data covers only thermal power plants. Pakistan also has hydro, nuclear, solar, and wind power facilities not included in this dataset.

Pakistan has approximately 11,620 MW of coal-fired power generation capacity. Major coal power projects include:

• Sahiwal Coal Power Plant: 1,320 MW
• Port Qasim Coal Power Plant: 1,320 MW
• China Hub Coal Project: 1,320 MW
• Thar Block-I Coal Project: 1,320 MW
• Port Qasim Coal (Datang): 700 MW
• Multiple Thar coal projects and other facilities

RLNG (Re-gasified Liquefied Natural Gas) is imported LNG that has been converted back to gaseous form for power generation. Pakistan has approximately 5,062 MW of RLNG-based capacity, including:

• National Power Project Balloki: 1,275.5 MW
• Haveli Bahadur Shah: 1,276.88 MW
• Punjab Thermal (Jhang): 1,278.7 MW
• Quaid-e-Azam Thermal: 1,230.9 MW
• K-Electric Bin Qasim-III and other facilities

GENCOs (Generation Companies) are government-owned power generation entities. There are four main GENCOs:

• GENCO-I: Operates Jamshoro TPS (2,200 MW) and GTPS Kotri (144 MW)
• GENCO-II: Operates Guddu plants (1,791.7 MW total) and TPS Quetta (28 MW)
• GENCO-III: Operates Muzzafargarh (1,350 MW), Faisalabad (144 MW), and Nandipur (565.65 MW)
• GENCO-IV: Operates Lakhra coal plant (150 MW)

Sugar mills play a significant role through bagasse cogeneration. Bagasse is the fibrous residue left after crushing sugarcane, which is burned to generate electricity. There are over 30 bagasse-based power plants with combined capacity exceeding 1,000 MW. These plants provide renewable energy and help sugar mills become energy self-sufficient while feeding excess power to the grid.

Combined Cycle Power Plants: Use both gas turbines and steam turbines. Exhaust heat from gas turbines is captured in Heat Recovery Steam Generators (HRSG) to produce steam for additional power generation. This achieves 50-60% efficiency.

Simple Cycle Power Plants: Use only gas turbines or diesel engines without heat recovery. They have lower efficiency (30-40%) but can start quickly, making them suitable for peaking power demand.

The largest power plants by installed capacity are:

• Jamshoro TPS-1: 2,200 MW (GENCO-I)
• KAPCO (Kot Addu): 1,600 MW (IPP)
• TPS Muzzafargarh: 1,350 MW (GENCO-III)
• Four 1,320 MW Coal Plants: Sahiwal, Port Qasim, China Hub, and Thar Block-I
• HUBCO: 1,292 MW (IPP)

The Thar Coal Project utilizes Pakistan’s indigenous coal reserves in the Thar Desert, Sindh. It includes multiple power plants:

• Thar Block-I: 1,320 MW
• Engro Power Thar: 660 MW
• Thar Energy Limited: 330 MW
• Siddiqsons Thar Block-II: 330 MW
• Thalnova Thar Block-II: 330 MW

This project is strategically important as it reduces dependence on imported coal and diversifies Pakistan’s energy mix with domestic resources.

K-Electric is Karachi’s vertically integrated utility company, handling generation, transmission, and distribution. K-Electric operates several thermal power facilities with total capacity of approximately 2,817 MW:

• Bin Qasim Power Station-I: 840 MW
• Bin Qasim Power Station-III (RLNG): 942.32 MW
• Bin Qasim Power Station-II: 572.67 MW
• Korangi Combined Cycle: 247.5 MW
• Gas Engine Power Plants: 214.624 MW

Thermal power plants are distributed across all provinces:

• Punjab: Highest concentration with thermal, RLNG, and bagasse plants around Sahiwal, Faisalabad, Lahore, and southern districts
• Sindh: Major coastal facilities in Karachi and Port Qasim area, Jamshoro complex, and Thar coal projects
• Balochistan: Coastal coal plants in Hub-Gwadar region and Quetta thermal facility
• KPK: Nandipur and northern thermal facilities

Pakistan has established several IPP (Independent Power Producer) policy frameworks over time:

• 1994 Policy: First major private sector participation, established foundational IPPs
• 2002 Policy: Expanded private generation, includes many large thermal and coal projects
• 2006 Renewable Policy: Focused on bagasse cogeneration and renewable energy
• 2015 Policy: Latest framework including CPEC projects, major coal and RLNG plants

Each policy offers different incentive structures, tariff mechanisms, and regulatory frameworks to encourage private investment.