Govt looking at costly fuel mix to meet summer power demand

With fuel cost adjustments in power tariff going through the roof, the government is struggling to ensure fuel supplies in the coming summer months amid higher global prices and supply constraints. Informed sources told Dawn that no fuel supplier was ready to commit liquefied natural gas (LNG) at lesser than $20 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) while furnace oil prices stay above Rs120,000 a tonne. Adding to the challenge is the planned development works at Tarbela Dam, the country’s largest source of hydropower, the cheapest source of power. Officials said the Ministry of Energy’s power division had told the government that its LNG requirement would start increasing from 380 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) in March to about 700 mmcfd in April, followed by 850 mmcfd in May and touch 880 mmcfd in June.