The United States Announces the Pakistan Signature Energy Program

Washington, DC

October 28, 2009

Following her meeting with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi at the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad today, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced a contribution of $125 million for the first phase of a Signature Energy Program in Pakistan aimed at increasing electricity output and conserving wasted energy and money.

The funding will be aimed at repairing generation facilities, improving the overall effectiveness of local utilities providers, replacing inefficient tube well pumps and promoting energy efficiency.

The six projects announced by Secretary Clinton today will begin reducing the frequency of electricity blackouts, that interfere with commerce and have plagued the Pakistani economy.

These six projects include:

1. Replacing or repairing 11,000 agricultural irrigation tube well pumps, a major component of electricity transmission used by a majority of farmers across Pakistan.

Rehabilitating, refurbishing, and upgrading targeted components of the Jamshoro, Muzaffargarh, and Guddu Thermal Power Stations to recapture significant amounts of their lost capacity.

2. Jamshoro Thermal Power Station: Improvements at Jamshoro Thermal Power Station, which sits on the banks of the Indus River near the city of Hyperabad in Sindh Province, will result in an additional 530 GWh/year of electricity for the national grid.

3. Muzaffargarh Thermal Power Station: Improvements at the Muzaffargarh Thermal Power Station, located on the banks of the Indus and Chenab Rivers near the city of Multan in Punjab Province, will result in 165 MW and a production of approximately 1,185 GHh/year of electricity for the national grid, saving $17 million in fuel per year.

4. Guddu Thermal Power Station: A targeted rehabilitation project to improve the aging and deteriorating gas turbines at the Guddu Thermal Power Station will restore 33 to 55 MW of the power station’s lost capacity and produce an additional 237 to 372 GWh/year for the national grid. The more efficient units will save approximately $2.3 million per year.

5. Tarbela Dam Hydroelectric Power Station: Installing higher performance insulation windings and supplying spare parts at the Tarbela Dam Hydroelectric Power Station, located on the Indus River in the NWFP, will increase the Station’s capacity to 80 MW - or 192 million kilowatt hours – of power. The funding will also provide additional training for staff.

6. Electricity Distribution Company Performance Improvement: The U.S. will work closely with four of the nine public electricity distribution companies over the next three years, aiming to lower levels of electricity loss so they are comparable to those of well-run distribution companies in developed countries. Every one percent of system-wide loss reduction represents $97 million in savings to Pakistani consumers and additional power for economic development.

Electric power distribution companies in Pakistan lose almost a third of the electricity they purchase, and some companies lose 50 percent or more. These losses are due to weak management, non-payment by government and consumers for electricity consumed, and high technical losses from worn-out equipment.