COAL FIRED POWER GENERATION POTENTIAL OF BALOCHISTAN

Socio-Economic development in Balochistan has always been stressed due to the lack of an adequateand dependable electricity supply. To meet the needs for power generation not only over burdenthat existing infra-structure but also put pressure on oil and gas resources. The share of coal in thepower generation of Pakistan is merely 1%. The unexploited coal resources of Pakistan may generatemore than 100 GW of electricity for the next 30 years by converting coal to a clean gas, which canthen be burned like natural gas with combined-cycle turbine. Balochistan coal reserves are 217 MTincluding 32 MT mineable, of sub-bituminous to bituminous rank, heating value ranges from 9,637to 15,499 Btu/lb, coal seam thickness ranges from 0.3 to 2.3 meter. It contains low ash and highsulfur and considered suitable for power generation. Small power plants up to 25 MW can be setupin each coalfield.