The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) of Pakistan has said that it will review the tariff petitions for two grid-connected solar projects, each of 50 MW capacity.

Per NEPRA, Kulachi Solar Power (Private) Limited had submitted a tariff petition for the 50 MW solar PV project which is located near Kulachi in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Kulachi Solar Power has proposed a levelized tariff of $0.076/kWh. This solar PV project is expected to be operational in August 2019.

In November 2017, Kulachi Solar Power had issued an engineering, procurement, and construction tender to set up a 50 MW grid-connected solar project. The project was to be spread over an area of 309 acres and was expected to generate 85.117 GWh of solar power per annum.

Meanwhile, another solar developer FAS Energy Pakistan (Private) Limited has submitted a petition for the determination of tariff for a 50 MW grid-connected solar project located in Kulachi of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

FAS intends to sell the electricity generated by the project to the Central Power Purchasing Agency (Guarantee) Limited (CPPAG). FAS has proposed a levelized tariff of $0.071/kWh for a period of 25 years.

The project is spread over an area of 250 acres and is expected to generate 85,626 MWh annually.

In another case concerning a 11.52 MW grid-connected solar PV project developed by Access Solar (Private) Limited, NEPRA has fixed $0.059/kWh as the levelized tariff for a 25-year period. NEPRA has directed the CPPAG to purchase the power from the project per the terms of the energy purchase agreement (EPA) at the levelized tariff.

Pakistan is slowly turning to solar power to meet its energy requirements. Recently, the World Bank pledged over $500 million for two renewable energy projects in Sindh, Pakistan. The projects will help in the development of an economic corridor along the Khyber Pass and are expected to accelerate economic activities between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pakistan has been a member of the World Bank since 1950. According to the bank, it has since then, provided $33.4 billion in assistance.