Dec 2023 Witnesses 8.2% YoY Decline in Power Generation

In December 2023, the nation experienced an 8.2% YoY reduction in total power generation, marking a decrease from 8,417 GWh in December 2022 to 7,726 GWh, according to the monthly power production data released by the National Electric Power Authority (NEPRA).

Cumulatively, during the first half of the fiscal year 2023-24 (6MFY24), electricity generation totaled 68,984 GWh, reflecting a modest 0.6% YoY growth compared to 68,570 GWh in 6MFY23.

Source-wise Breakdown:

• Hydel, Nuclear, and imported Coal generation experienced declines of 32.5%, 6.9%, and 21% MoM in December, respectively.
• Conversely, local Coal, RLNG, gas, wind, bagasse, and solar generation all saw increases of 32.7%, 58.9%, 18.8%, 1.4%, 3.74x, and 24% MoM, respectively.

Comparing December 2023 to the same month in 2022, Nuclear, Gas, imported Coal, Wind, bagasse, and solar generation witnessed significant drops.

Share-wise Distribution:

• Hydel power contributed the most, accounting for 24.1% (1,859 GWh) of total electricity in December 2023.
• Nuclear power held an 18.9% share, generating around 1,464 GWh, while local coal contributed 17% (1,310 GWh) to overall electricity generation.
• RLNG-based power plants generated approximately 1,268 GWh, representing 16.4% of total generation.

Fuel Cost Analysis:

• The average fuel cost surged by 43.9% YoY to Rs10.13/kWh in December 2023, compared to Rs7.04/kWh in the same period last year.
• On a sequential basis, the fuel cost increased by 41.3% MoM in December 2023 compared to Rs7.17/kWh in November 2023.
• RFO and local coal saw a decrease in fuel cost by 17.5% and 19.2%, respectively, during the review month.

However, fuel costs for all other sources recorded monthly increases, contributing to an overall annual rise.