Private-Sector Power Generation in Pakistan: Potential, Impediments, and Policy Issues

摘要

In 1985, an Agency for International Development (AID) sponsored team of consultants assessed the potential for private sector cogeneration and other small (30 MW or less) power production facilities in Pakistan and recommended steps to develop a program to exploit this potential. Presented here are findings on: the potential for small-scale non-utility power generation over the next ten years; the policy concerns of the private sector and of Pakistan's two utilities, particularly as to the price paid by utilities for bulk power--the main obstacle to extensive private participation in power generation; and possible approaches to defining a purchase price. The study concluded that: private sector small-scale power generation could play a major role in reducing shortfalls in Pakistan's generating capacity; the private sector has shown serious interest in investing in power generation and has the resources to do so; the Pakistani government lacks the institutional capability to implement its policy on power purchases from private plants. It was recommended that AID promote cooperation between U.S. and Pakistani firms in the design and operation of power systems.