i

IMPORTANCE OF HYDROPOWER IN PAKISTAN

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Background .......................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Hydropower Potential in Pakistan ........................................................................ 2
1.3 Problem Statement ............................................................................................... 5
1.4 Aims and objectives ............................................................................................. 5
1.5 Gap in Literature .................................................................................................. 5
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Chapter 3 Methodology ...................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.2 Material and Medium ......................................................................................... 12
3.3 Procedure/ Workplan.......................................................................................... 13
CHAPTER 4 PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT ................................................................... 14
4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 14
4.2 Hydropower resources on major Rivers ............................................................. 14
4.3 Province wise Hydropower generation capacity ................................................ 16
4.4 Hydropower sites in Pakistan ............................................................................. 17
4.5 Working of Hydroelectric plant ......................................................................... 18
4.6 Recent Developments in Hydropower Sector .................................................... 19
4.7 Tarbela Dam ....................................................................................................... 20
4.8 Mangla Dam ....................................................................................................... 21
4.9 Ghazi Barotha ..................................................................................................... 23
4.10 Neelum Jhelum Project ......................................................................................... 23
CHAPTER 5 SUMMARY ................................................................................................ 28
References ......................................................................................................................... 30
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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1Hydropower resources of Pakistan ........................Error! Bookmark not defined.

Table 2 Comparative summary for different hydropower projects .................................. 15

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1Painting of identified hydropower resources on major rivers ............................. 14

Figure 2Painting of province wise installed capacity of hydropower plants .................... 16

Figure 3Painting of sites of hydropower ........................................................................... 17

Figure 4painting of Hydroelectric plant ............................................................................ 18

Figure 5Painting of Tarbela Dam ..................................................................................... 20

Figure 6painting of Mangla Dam ...................................................................................... 21

Figure 7Painting of Ghazi Barotha Hydropower Attock .................................................. 23

Figure 8Painting of Neelum Jhelum project ..................................................................... 24

Figure 9Painting of Kalabag dam ..................................................................................... 26

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ABSTRACT

Present study aims to highlight the importance of hydropower projects in Pakistan. It tends

to evaluate the importance of hydropower project as a source of electricity generation.

Despite of having vast verity of natural resources country still fails to meet its energy needs

on its own. Therefore, the present study initially investigates the importance of hydropower

projects to cope with power crisis. In this study watercolor paintings were used for the

pictographic representation of major power plants in the country along with the main sites

where those plants were implemented and the province wise capacity of generating

hydropower. The result of the study implements that if country ensures an efficient use of

its natural resources there will be a way for it to make its pace with largely globalized

economies of the country.

 1

Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1 Background

Energy plays an important role in the survival and economic growth of a country.

It is usually regarded as a backbone of the country because the most important sectors of

the country i.e., transportation sector, industrial sector, residential sector, and business

largely rely on it. Therefore, it is considered as the catalyst for economic development as

it is a gauge for the development of all sectors of a country. According to a report presented

in US Energy Information Administration (2013) the net demand of electricity from

renewable resources across the world will rise to 93% in coming 30 years. Following figure
solar, other,
34bkwh, 332bkwh,
is Net productivity of
geothermal
1% 8%
, 66bkwh electricity from renewable
2%
wind,
342bkwh, resources (Source: US-EIA,
8%
2013). In the way, it is

depicting the net productivity

hydropower, of renewable energy in 2010
3402bkwh,
81%
which was 4175 KWh. Given

figure is clearly depicting the

worldwide importance of the hydropower. Different researchers carried out research to

analyze the role and importance of hydropower across the world. For example, Yuksel

(2010) in his study on Hydropower for sustainable water and energy development states

the importance of Dams in Turkey. Besides this Bhutto et al., (2012) investigate the

development of hydropower on the basis of regions in Pakistan. Paish (2012) argues small

hydropower projects are equally important as those of major hydropower projects. Also,
 2

he highlighted the barriers in the implementation of small hydropower projects in Europe.

Another study was carried out by Siddiqi et al. (2002) where he analyzed the importance

of hydropower in Pakistan and provide empirical evidence. Besides these many other

researchers were carried out to highlight the importance of hydropower for the country.

1.2 Hydropower Potential in Pakistan

Pakistan has the abundance of hydropower resources of about 60000 MW. Most of the

hydropower resources are in the north region of Pakistan while in the South they are scare

and consists of barrages and canals. These hydropower resources of Pakistan are mainly

divided into six regions i.e., Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit -Baltistan, Punjab, Sindh, Azad

Jammu & Kashmir and Balochistan. Below is the figure, which is presenting the

hydropower potential in Pakistan which is distributed into its following regions.

Hydropower Resources of Pakistan

30000
24736
25000 21725
20000
Total = 59796MW
15000
10000 7291 6450
5000
700 500
0
KPK GB Punjab AJ&K Sindh Baluchistan

Hydropower resources of Pakistan

Pakistan is facing serious crisis of energy most common of which is the electricity crisis

due to a significant gap between the demand of electricity and its supply. In 1960

hydropower was producing 70% electricity of country. Which reduced to 30% now-a-days

due to which country start managing its electricity needs by fossil fuels due to which

country fails to meet its desired ends (Muneer & Asif, 2007). Being an agrarian country, it

is paying a deep concentration over its agriculture sector where mechanized system has
 3

been introduced which largely relays on energy sources i.e., electricity. However, as larger

proportion of the country is depending upon energy resources due to which country is

facing many challenges in the development of its energy sector. The present energy mix of

the country fails to meet the demand and supply gap due to which country is relying heavily

on imported fuel. Thus, governments fail to overcome the crisis of energy in the country.

At present the energy mix of the country comprises following main resources i.e., natural

gas which is 49.5% of the total energy mix, oil is 30.8% of the total energy mix of the

country, hydel energy is 12.5% of the total energy mix available to the country, coal

comprises 6.5% of total energy mix, nuclear, LPG and the imported electricity is 0.7% of

the energy mix.

Statistics showed that in 2006, Pakistan needed 57.9 million Tons of energy such

trends shows that there is a growing demand of energy in the country which was expected

to be increased at the rate of 11% to 13% every year. Due to large dependency on energy

sector, there occur a gap between the supply and demand of the electrical power which

results in black outs in both rural and urban areas on daily basis (Palnning Commission of

Pakistan, n.d.). The difference between demand of electricity and its generation reaches to

80MW in 2012 (The Express Tribune, n.d.). The total of 0.7 to 0.8 million consumers are

putting their burden on national grid and are taking 1000 MW of the energy while the

capacity to produce electricity is just 7.8%. Due to electricity crisis, there observed a clear

downfall in the export sector of the country which occurs due to the unproductive industries

which always remains at the verge of electricity (Uddin, Khan, Shaukat, Majid, & Mujtaba,
 4

2016). Keeping in view the above scenario the International Energy Agency maintained

that by 2050 there will be three times increase in energy demands which will be equal to

49,078 MW (Survey, 2009-10). Studies carried out by Zameer et al. (2018) found that the

demand for energy is growing at a much faster rate than its growth. In order to meet the

energy needs many countries are using energy renewable resources. For overcoming

energy crisis, it is necessary to explore new energy renewable resources (Kamran, 2018).

Pakistan being owning one of the ideal geographical location can use energy renewable

resources which are present in an abundance in the country. Insite of this, at present country

is using the conventional means of power generation to meets its energy demand which

can be depicted from the given figure. The figure is presenting the Share of Conventional

Nuclear, energy resources in Pakistan. These

6%
Hydro, 30%
resources are distributed between the

Thermal, thermal, hydro, and nuclear

64%

resources. Pakistan uses these

Hydro Thermal Nuclear
resources for the creation of energy

in the country. This generation of energy meets the requirements of its 210 million of

population. Based on this generation of energy Pakistan is growing and moving towards

the development and has the significant opportunities for being a developed nation. The

yellow region in the pie chart is presenting the generation of energy through the thermal

sources and it is 64 percent while orange area is presenting the hydro power generation in

Pakistan which is 30 percent. Although pakistan has the significant water resources in the

country and is water rich country but the hydro power generation plants are too costly, and

the cost is 2 million US$ per MW while the green area in the figure is presenting the energy
 5

through nuclear sources and it is the 6 percent of total energy production in Pakistan. The

interesting fact about the discussion is the hydro-thermal energy mix situation ratio of

Pakistan. In 1960, the ratio of hydrothermal was 44:56 while in 2018 it was 25:75.

1.3 Problem Statement

Despite owning many natural resources and being located at an ideal geographical location

Pakistan still fails to meet its energy demands. Country is still facing a large gap between

the supply and demand of electricity due to which the economic development of the

country shrinks. This study was carried out to highlight the importance of hydropower as

a catalyst for economic growth.

1.4 Aims and Objectives

• To analyze the importance of Hydropower projects as an important source of

energy generation.

• To examine the low-cost production of electricity through hydropower projects.

• To highlight the equal importance of small and large hydropower projects

• To study the role of hydropower in the economy

• To examine the reinstalment of new hydropower sites.

1.5 Gap in Literature

Previously several studies were carried out to analyze the importance of

hydropower for the development of country. On one hand the study will highlight the

important role of hydropower projects for the development of the country while on the

other hand, it will also investigate the ways to improve this sector. It was found that the

literature fails to examine reinstalment of hydropower sites for the dwindling energy sector

which were also the main components of development of shrinking sector of the country.
 6

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

Hydropower also known as waterpower and the form of power produced from running as

well as falling water. It is often regarded as the oldest technique of producing electricity. It

is efficient to use as it is renewable source of energy. Additionally, it is cost-effective

because of its conversion efficiency. It has log lifespan along with low maintenance cost

as compared to other energy resources (IPCC, 2011). The main advantage of using this

type of energy generation source is this that it is CO2 free source of electricity generation.

In 2016 the estimated share of hydropower as a renewable source of electricity generation

was 68%. The countries which are dominated in generating electricity from hydropower

includes China, North America and South America. In 2016 the total share of pacific region

in hydropower generation was 40% while the share of America was 34% (Report, 2017).

In 1993 total 2286 MW hydropower was generated which exceeds to $102 in 2016 which

appeared as the largest contribution from the renewable resource (World Energy Council).

Hydropower has emerged as an environment friendly source of electricity

generation while other resources like oil, gas. Coal etc. creates environmental hazards. A

report of US information Administration (2016) presents that in 2016 there was 32%

greenhouse gas emission resulted from electricity generated activities out of which 70%

were those related to coal, oil and fuel etc. due to these affects hydropower is considered

as an environment friendly source of power generation.

Water resource of the Pakistan is one of its identities which gives her a beautiful

recognition in the world. Due to the fact it is considered as an important source of business

in the Asian continent. It has the tremendous water resources and have a great potential in

creating the energy i.e., hydel energy. Hydel energy no doubt is regarding as the main and
 7

cheapest source in the creation of energy. It is the energy which acts as a catalyst for the

survival and development of human beings as they use energy for producing food, clothes

and shelter. They are many sources of energy like water, gas, coal, fossil fuels etc. in the

way, welfare of states are strongly based on the resources they hold. In the way, it resulted

into more independent and sovereignty. Social sciences thus strongly emphases on the

optimal allocation of the resources and considered them the last resort for the higher

standard of human beings and the growth and development of the nationals. It has been

looked that water disputes always remained on the top among the disputes between people

in overall their history. The example in the regard is the Siachen dispute between Pakistan

and India, this dispute on water has been considered as the most expensive wart in the

world. According to World Bank (2012) there is continuous increase in the pressure in

water disputes in Hindu Kush-Himalayan region and there is a “race to the top” for these

water resources for the hydel power development. Therefore, Pakistan contains the great

potential of water or hydel power, it has the significant water resources. According to

Qazibash (2005) Pakistan has the significant water resources due to which it has the

significant economic opportunities from deploying hydropower system.

Pakistan is the water rich country due to the reason it has the self-sufficiency in the

areas of agriculture and industry. It is the capacity and capability of Pakistan in the energy

which brings him the self-sufficiency but unfortunately the energy market of Pakistan or

investment in the hydel power generation always remained in confusion. These

contradictions have been prevailing from many years and due to the reason Pakistan is

lacking in the water storage and did not achieved any significance project for the

development of its hydel power system. In the way, Pakistan only uses the 13 percent of
 8

rivers annual flow (SHYDO). Moreover, it only uses the 9 percent of water of its Indus

river while all other drains out in the sea (UN). The canal system of Pakistan is also the

important source of the country which comprises the 58,450 km of watercourses and farm

channels. Here it is another 160,000 km running in ditches which is presenting another

great hydropower potential in Pakistan in its various different sites where Pakistan has the

capacity to build 1mw to 10 MW plants and Pakistan has taken the good initiatives to do

so, Ministry of water and development.

In the beginning, Pakistan begins with only 60 MW of hydel power for its 31.5

million of population and enhanced to 119 MW with creation of WAPDA in the 1958. In

1960, Pakistan signed Indus Basin treaty and used 142 MAF surface water i.e., Indus 93,

Jhelum 23 and Chenab 26). In the way, Pakistan develops the significant hydel power

system in the country that comprises Warsak hydel power of 240 MW, Mangla hydel power

system 1000 MW and Tarbela hydel power of 3478 MW. According to the WAPDA, in

one of it reports, theorized that Pakistan has the total hydel power potential of 100,000 MW

with the identification of 59,000 MW into different sites of the country. Moreover, Pakistan

has only 30 percent of capacity to store its water reservoirs (WAPDA). In contrast to this

scenario United States of America (USA) has developed this capacity up to 497 percent on

its River Colorado, Egypt has the 281 percent capacity for the River Nile while Indians

have developed the 35 percent of capacity on their Sutlej-Bias Basin. These statistics

emphasizes on the importance of water and and show the strong concerns regarding the

availability of water. According to United Nations (UN) availability of water stands 1070

cubic meters for per capita and the any number below the 1000 cubic meters resulted into

the alarming situation in the country. Therefore, Pakistan should take the efficient measures
 9

for enhancing the storing capacity in the country. it will help him to generate more hydel

energy which will save the hard-earned monetary resources for Pakistan.

Kugelman (2011) stated that Pakistan is facing the massive demographic changes

which have the significant impacts on its economy. moreover, Pakistan has the high

population growth rate, and it is 201 million currently, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS)

and will reach to 236 million till the 2030 (UNDP). In the result, urbanization is

continuously increasing which is significantly increases the industrial base. Therefore,

demand for water and energy is on the new heights. According to Hathaway (2007) and

EAC (2009) the infrastructure for water and energy is not reasonable due to which country

is facing a severe shortages and breakdowns in the realms of energy and water. Due to the

reason Pakistan is faces the energy crises during the last many years and the gap between

supply and demand of energy continuously increases and reached up to 4500 MW. For

managing this condition Pakistan imported fossil fuel for last many years for the creation

of energy in the country but on the other hand it resulted into the circular debt of Rs 922

billion which hampers the growth of its economy. This debt is the 15 percent of Pakistani

budget outlay i.e., 5932.5 billion in the FY-2018-19, according to the statistics of Budget

(2018-19). Therefore, Pakistan is facing a heavy stress on its economy, as it is using the

high tariff energy instead of low tariff energy i.e., hydro energy. The interesting fact about

the discussion is the hydro-thermal energy mix situation ratio of Pakistan. In 1960, the ratio

of hydrothermal was 44:56 while in 2018 it was 25:75.

Pakistan has the pluralistic attributes. Due to the reason, it has the religious

fundamentalism, racism, sectarianism, ethnic tensions and regional economic disparities.

In the result it has been engaged in war and terror and focusing on the framing and
 10

implementation of policies for mitigating the adverse effects of political instability in the

country. In spite of this, it takes the reasonable initiatives for the development of its sectors.

Pakistan installed its hydro power capacity up to 7,027 MW till the 2016. It is composed

in all provinces of Pakistan. Among them the KPK is on the top. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

(KPK) holds the 57 percent of total capacity from the 7,027 MW, in the way Punjab

comprises the 25 percent of hydro power installed capacity, Azad Jammu and Kashmir

(AJ&K) has the 15 percent of hydro power installed capacity while Gilgit Baltistan (GB)

has the 5 percent. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) there are about 142 project sites in the

province. The identified capacity in the province is 24736 MW with the small, medium

and high heads. According to WAPDA, Public and private both sector are working on these

projects, public sector is currently working on the implementation of 27 sites and these

sites has the total capacity of 9482 MW, owning by government agency WAPDA/SHYDO.

While private sector is dealing with the implementation of 10 sites and these sites has the

total capacity of 2398 MW. The 19 out of the 142 sites are now in operation in the province

and these sites has the total capacity of 3849 MW. 8930 MW are respective to raw these

sites are mainly the river sites having the small daily pondage.

In Punjab hydel power is attributed to different canals and barrages. These canals

and the barrages have the significant potential for creating the hydel power in the country.

the identified hydel power is estimated up to 7291 MW which has been distributed among

the 330 canal sites in the Punjab province. These identified sites only have the medium and

small heads unlike to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which has the large heads as well. Out of 330

sites only 8 projects are currently in operation with the total capacity of 1699 MW installed

hydro power. One site is under the observation of Government of Pakistan (GOP)
 11

implemented by WAPDA in the Punjab while 5 other projects of total capacity of 24MW

on different canal falls are headed by the government of Punjab and they are under

construction. In the way, public sector is currently implementing the 1699 and 720 MW

projects in the Punjab. On the other hand, private sector in the Punjab is implementing the

1028 MW projects. Similarly, AJ&K is engaged in the production of 6450 MW of hydel

power. AJ&K has the total 68 hydropower sites. There are only 9 projects are in operation

and these projects have the total capacity of 1039 MW. Public sector in the AJ&K is dealing

with the 23 sites which have the 1231 MW total capacity of hydro power while the private

sector is engage with the 22 sites having the 3264 MW total capacity of hydro power. All

of the sites are the sites of run-of-river. In the way, GB has the total 278 projects sites.

These projects sites have the total capacity of tremendous 21125 MW. The projects which

are currently operated in GB are 98 projects and they have the total capacity installed of

133 MW. The public sector NAPWD is engage with the 31 projects which have the total

capacity of 11876 MW and the private sector is only dealing with the single project which

have the total capacity of 40 MW. Sindh province has the 18 sites and have the total hydel

power capacity of 193 MW while Baluchistan has the 8 sites and focuses only on irrigation.

According to private power and infrastructure board, Pakistan should strongly

emphasize on the creation of 50,000 MW in next 15 years for raising living standard of its

peoples. While on the other hand, the cost of installation of hydro power plants is quite

higher than the thermal power plants. The hydropower plant takes the 2m US$ for per MW.

If the Pakistan decided to install hydel power plants in the country it must have to forego

the huge amount every year, for the purpose it must have to get the loan from the financial

institutions whether as there is no other possibility.

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CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

This project shed lights on the importance of hydropower plants in Pakistan. I use

watercolor paintings to highlight the phenomenon under consideration. For collecting the

relevant information, an online survey is developed using five-point Likert scale. For

analyzing the reliability and efficiency of data the researcher will use the past work of

renowned scholars i.e., Fassahat Qureshi, Naseem Abbas, Khaleeq Kiyani etc. The survey

questions were distributed among university students, teachers, industrialists. and

businessmen. Results of survey reveals that Hydropower is a backbone of the economy.

This study will highlight the important hydropower plants working in the country by

drawing paintings. For which researcher will use different materials and mediums given as

follow:

3.2 Material and Medium

In the study major power plants and their capacities were highlighted by watercolor

paintings for which the researcher opted scholar sheets and watercolor brushes which are

discussed in detail as follow:

For drawing paintings for present study scholar sheets were used because the

smooth surface of these sheets makes it ideal for use with pen, pencil, marker and more. It

was easily available in the market. The main advantage of using scholar sheets is that it

can be easily erased without affecting the paper quality. Moreover, these sheet were

available at pocket-friendly prices.

It has been said that; “Creating art, in any form, requires artist to observe.” Art helps

us to present the world we see by the eye of an artist. For drawings, watercolors play an

important role. In this study researcher will use watercolors for painting due to their
 13

advantageous i.e., there are easy to use and cleans and they can never damage the brushes.

these do not use any kind of chemical and are also odor-free. The main advantage due to

which researcher prefer watercolors over any other source of painting was their

transparency as one can easily blend them on paper.

In present study researcher is using watercolor painting for which researcher will use paints

different types of brushes. In this study for paintings researcher uses warison watercolor

brushes which have a capacity to hold fine points. This capacity helps researcher in detailed

depiction of phenomenon under consideration by making use of watercolors. These brushes

have water and paint holding capacities. Also, these provide strength to the product. The

major brushes used by researcher were round and flat watercolor brushes.

3.3 Procedure/ Workplan

Pakistan being at the verge of electricity crisis is failed to make its pace with largely

globalized world. Despite the dependency of larger proportion of the population on the

electricity country fails to meet the demand. To overcome the issue various resources are

in use to generate electricity of which hydropower is one on which this study is based.

For present study entitled, “Importance of hydropower in Pakistan” extensive

literature review has been done to investigate the important role of this sector in the

development of the economy. After going through different news reports, thesis, scholarly

articles, and government sites several pictures and maps for the hydropower plants and

dams working in the country were identified. Due to limited access to all dams the

researcher uses secondary data along with pie charts of different statistics results. After

collecting the relevant data and pictures researchers made sketches of them on scholar

sheets and then painted them with different watercolors.

 14

CHAPTER 4 PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

4.1 Introduction

Pakistan is a country blessed with abundant natural resources. South eastern and

western regions of country have large reserves of gas, oil, and coal (OGRA, 2013)while

the northern regions of the country which are hilly contains water reserves in the form of

Glaciers which when melts form rivers and streams. The wind speed of 13.8-16.5 miles per

hour which play an efficient role in producing the wind energy (OGRA, 2013). The solar

energy intensity in the country ranges between 1800-2200kWh per square meter per day

which shows that country can produce enough of the energy from sun. At present the

installed capacity of different power plant including hydro, thermal, coal, nuclear etc., is

26,898MW. Present study highlights the importance of hydropower plants in Pakistan.

Researcher will use watercolor paintings to highlight the phenomenon. For drawing

painting, the medium and material used will be discussed briefly along with the importance

of product stated.

4.2 Hydropower resources on major Rivers

Figure 1Painting of identified hydropower resources on major rivers.

 15

This painting presents those hydropower resources which are located on major

rivers of the country i.e., Jhelum, Swat, Kunhar, Punch, Kandiah and other. For above

painting scholar sheets are being used. Different watercolors are used in the paintings to

highlight and differentiate the statistics related to the major rivers where these hydropower

plants are located. Warison watercolor brushes are used in these paintings as these are high

quality brushes which helps to paint efficiently. The comparative summary for different

hydropower projects working in country at various stages is given in the following table:

Name of Projects Public Private Projects with Projects with

Province in sector sector feasibility pre-feasibility
Operation projects projects study study
MW Above Below Above Below
50MV 50MV 50MV 50MV
KPK 3767.2 635 84 58 143 13584 426
PUNJAB 1698 96 Nil 3720 32.17 Nil 349.65
AJ&K 1036.1 973.8 828.7 420 48.2 1152 177
NORTHERN 93.732 18 Nil 505 71.5 10905 814
AREAS
SINDH Nil Nil Nil Nill 49.5 80 48.55
BALUCHISTAN Nil Nil Nil Nil 0.5 Nil Nil
Total 6595.032 722.8 912.7 4703 344.87 25721 1815.2
Table 1comparative summary for different hydropower projects

By the help of Asian Development Bank, the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

has installed 1000 small hydropower projects to meet the increasing power demands of the

country. The motive of installing micro hydropower plants is to provide reliable and

affordable electricity. Out of 1000 schemes several are running, and several are in planning

phase under private sector. By successful implementation of these projects economy of

Pakistan will boost. Public sector projects which were completed includes Golden Gol.

While Neelum-Jhelum and Dasu projects are under construction for meeting the increased

demand of electricity.
 16

4.3 Province wise Hydropower generation capacity

Figure 2Painting of province wise installed capacity of hydropower plants

For this painting researcher uses scholar sheets and watercolor paintings.

Researcher prefers watercolor painting due to their advantages i.e., these looks attractive,

these never damage the brushes, and also these are odor-free. This painting clearly

highlights the hydropower capacity of four important provinces of country i.e., Punjab,

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit Baltistan, and Azad Jammu & Kashmir.

Pakistan due to its geographical location is gifted with the hydel power potential of

almost 41722MW. Most of the hydropower of the country is generated from Punjab, KPK,

AJ&K and GB. However, statistics reveals that most of the hydropower potential of the

country is still untapped. It is need of an hour to make efficient use of the hydel potential

of the country so that the problem of energy crisis can be solved. The total installed capacity

of the hydropower plants in country is 6720MV out of which Punjab carries 1699MV

potential of hydropower. Gilgit Baltistan has the hydropower potential of 133MV, Azad
 17

Jammu & Kashmir has 1039MV capacity of hydropower generation, and Khyber

Pakhtunkhwa carries the highest capacity of hydropower generation which is 3849.

4.4 Hydropower sites in Pakistan

Figure 3Painting of sites of hydropower

For this painting researcher uses scholar sheets an watercolors. For coloring pointed

Warison brushes are used to highlight main sites and areas. By using watercolors painting

looks attractive. Different types of watercolors are used to highlights the main sites where

the hydropower projects of the country are either in-process or under-process.

Pakistan has efficiency to generate electricity from water in order to solve the

problem of energy crisis. For overcoming the issue of energy crisis especially the electricity

the country has developed many sites for producing electricity, yet it was found that

country is not using its resources fully due to which many of the hydropower site remained

undeployed. Statistics revealed by Ministry of Finance (2013) presents that the total

installed capacity of hydropower resources in the country was 6720 MW in 2010. This was

11% of the total capacity of the country which is 60,000 MW (WAPDA, 2013).
 18

2016 is considered a landmark in the history of hydropower plant as many of the schemes

were constructed in this year in KPK, which includes Machai, Daral Khwaar, and Ranolia.

Moreover, some of the hydropower schemes are under constructed while other are in

planning phase as depicted in the painting. Following table provides the summary statistics

of the overall hydropower resources in country.

4.5 Working of Hydroelectric plant

Figure 4painting of Hydroelectric plant

In this painting scholar sheets are used for drawing purpose while watercolors are used for

coloring. The basic reason of using scholar sheets is their easy availability and watercolors

on these sheets provides a tidy outlook due to which the paintings look attractive.

The hydroelectric plant is always located on height due to which it can easily

convert the potential energy of water into electrical energy. The power generating capacity

of hydroelectric plant depends on head and volume of water which flows towards the water

turbine. Water flowing in river has two types of energy i.e., Kinetic energy, which produces

due to water flow and Potential energy that Produces due to height of water.
 19

This plant utilizes the potential energy of water along with power of water for

generating electricity. This electricity generation depends upon two major factors i.e.,

volume of flow of water and height of water. When there is more volume and height of the

major there will be more electricity production. The high head of water is depending upon

the reservoir of water which must keep as high as possible. However, the height of

reservoir of water depends upon the height of riverbed, amount of water and other related

factors. In order to get maximum head of water the power generation unit is usually

constructed at level lower than ground. For adjusting water flow pen stocks are used based

on requirements.

For generating electricity, the hydroelectric power plant requires different

components ranging between water reservoirs to Draft tubes. Reservoir is the most basic

component of the hydroelectric power station. It is used to store large quantity of water

during dry and rainy seasons. For reservoir it is necessary to construct dam beside the

river. An open tunnel used to draw water from the reservoir which then move towards the

penstock locating at the lower level of height of water. In the way the previously stored

potential energy will be converted into kinetic energy due to which the turbine will rotate.

The shaft of turbine will be connected to the generator in order to generate electricity which

will then delivered to local grid center.

4.6 Recent Developments in Hydropower Sector

Due to amid energy crisis the country is facing a rough digit of approximately 51 million

Pakistanis lack access to electricity while about 90 million people of the country are those

having unreliable power supply in the form of load-shedding which is worsening the

economy of the country. Further to meet the energy crisis there viewed a huge dependency
 20

over imported fuels for thermal generation which causes inflation and price fluctuations

which causes annual power deficit of 4000MW. In 1991 country the hydropower sector of

the country was generating 45percent power which dropped to 28percent due to short-term

planning of government.

Hydropower has a significant role in addressing the power deficit and some past studies

put their emphasis to increase the 40percent proportion of hydropower in total electricity

generation by 2030. Therefore, recently some identified developments were observed in

the hydropower sector under which new hydropower projects are implemented in the form

of Dams and hydropower plants which are expected to play a significant role in boosting

the economic situations of the country.

4.7 Tarbela Dam

Figure 5Painting of Tarbela Dam

This painting also uses scholar sheets and watercolors for highlighting the

importance of dams as a major sources of power generation. Warison watercolors are used
 21

in this painting for beautifully portraying the flow of water from dam. The dam presenting

in this painting is Tarbela Dam.

Tarbela Dam is the large dam of the country located at Indus River Basin. It is

situated 50km north-west of Islamabad city. This dam forms a water reservoir of 250 square

kilometer surface area. This dam was initially designed for two purposes i.e., Power

generation and Irrigation.

The main walls of dam are made of earth and rock fill, which stretches to 2743m

and is at the height of 148m from the riverbed. It has two spills one is main having

discharge capacity of 18406 Cumecs and other is auxiliary shaving capacity 24070

Cumsec. Initially it has he storage capacity of 11.6 MAF and 9.7 MAF which reduces to 9

MAF and 6.7 MAF.

4.8 Mangla Dam

Figure 6: Painting of Mangla Dam

For this painting different brushes are used i.e., round, flat, spotter etc., which helps a lot

to clearly define the main feature of the product. Also, this painting is highlighting the
 22

importance of Mangla Dam which is the seventh largest dam of the world. Additionally, it

beautifully captures the high riverbed.

Mangla dam is located on River Jhelum in Azad Kashmir. The project was initially

proposed in 1950’s at the upstream of River Jhelum located at the distance of 30 kilometer

away from the main city. Its studies and feasibility tests were initially conduct before its

projection in 1958. However, it was parted with Indus Basin where the construction of it

was started in 1962 and it finally completed in 1967. It is seventh largest dam in the world.

Its name was originated on the name of village Mangla. According to Major Nasrullah

(2003) the design and supervision of dam was under Binnie and Partners of London. The

design of this dam was started in 1957. It has capacity to boost-up the volume of water so

that it can be used for irrigation proposes. It is of great importance because it is irrigating

1.3 million acres of land of the country.

It has also capacity to store and hold the flooded water which saves millions of

lives. Initially the project was started with the idea of storing water for irrigation purposes

later on it was found that it is additionally controlling floods. The main structure of the

dam constitutes four embankment dams, two spillways, power and irrigation tunnels and

power station. It is 10300 feet long and 454 feet high. Its reservoir is 97.7 square miles. It

is at the height of 116m from the riverbed. It is further supported by two auxiliary dams

i.e., Jari and Sukhian dams. it was designed to storage capacity of 5.88 MAF which now

reduced to 1.97 MAF which is 34 percent of the initial capacity.

The reservoir of Mangla Dam is physically located in province Punjab and Azad

Jammu & Kashmir. In 1960 the construction of dam was started for which WAPDA

acquired land of 11210 ft. hundreds of town and villages get directly affected from the
 23

project. However, most proportion of population of Azad Jammu & Kashmir suffered

during the construction of this dam and the whole city of Mirpur get damaged which later

shifted to a new site. Due to 30 feet height the major areas i.e., Dudial, Chaksawari, and

Islamgarh get affected. While it has minimum effects of the province Punjab.

4.9 Ghazi Barotha

Figure 7: Painting of Ghazi Barotha Hydropower Attock

Above painting also uses scholar sheets. It clearly presents the run-of-river project where

it presents the efficiency of this project which on one hand is generating power while on

the other hand it present that the project is environment-friendly.

Ghazi Barotha hydroelectric power plant is designed as run-of-river plant. It is

located 100km from Islamabad on River Indus in north west Pakistan. The implementation

of this project lasted from 1995 to 2004 and it was finalized in 2003. It was constructed by

partial river diversion at Ghazi located 7 km away from Tarbela Dam. The barrage diverts

water at 52 km concrete-lined channel which delivers it at 1450 MV powerhouse at

Barotha. Ghazi Barotha plays an important role in the provision of energy and irrigation.

It has the significant share in the contribution of industrial and irrigation system in the
 24

province Punjab. Due to this reason, Punjab has the sufficient irrigation system, and this

irrigation system contributes 25 percent in the GDP of Pakistan and this irrigation also

engage the 54 percent of labor force. In the regard, The Punjab Power Development Board

has taken the best initiatives for the promotion and upgradation of hydropower in the

country. Therefore, this is run-of -river plant in Attock district of Punjab which proves to

be environment friendly. It also serves as the fuel saver for Punjab. This project is efficient

and also have the low cost of operations and maintenance. Moreover, Ghazi Barotha has

no atmospheric pollutants, it is upgrading the living of standard of peoples in Punjab. It has

also the tourism opportunities and has the keen educational importance. Therefore, it is

concluded that Ghazi Barotha is the inexpensive hydro power generation project in the

Punjab which is the good source of renewable energy and promoting the living of standard

of peoples of Punjab and its economy.

4.10 Neelum Jhelum Project

Figure 8Painting of Neelum Jhelum project

 25

This painting is a beautiful pictographic representation of the Neelum-Jhelum

Project which is under construction. In this painting scholar sheets are used for blending

colors beautifully. Also, watercolors are used in the painting for highlighting the general

process of the project. Flat brushes are used for blending different colors in the painting.

As we know that sufficient supply of the energy plays an important role in the

development of any nation. In countries who posses Himalayan region, high Himalayas

often regarded as a facility for developing hydropower. From past some years Pakistan

start utilizing those energy resources which are renewable. The Neelum-Jhelum

hydropower project is a great example of this metaphor. It is run-of-river project. Run-of-

river projects are those wherein the electricity is generated without erupting the natural

flow of water.

A report presented by WAPDA (2013) holds that the Neelum-Jhelum hydropower

project aims to generate 5.15 billion units of electricity which will be low-cost. For larger

hydropower projects the landscape apparently will present the layout of the facilities

Hydropower projects where most of the time preference is given to those facilities which

are underground. As Neelum-Jhelum is located in the Himalayan region therefore its many

facilities are underground.

4.11 Kalabag Dam

 26

Figure 9Painting of Kalabag dam

Above painting is presenting the most important and controversial dam of the country i.e.,

Kalabag Dam. For drawing this painting scholar sheets are used along with watercolors

which gives it an attractive look.

Kalabag dam is located at 194 kilometers d/s away from another important dam of the

country i.e., Tarbela dam and it is 16 kilometers away from the main city Kalabag. Within

the distance of 13 kilometer the dam is linked to road and railway line. At Kalabag dam

the catchment area of Indus river is 289194 square kilometer. The average flow of Indus

river is 138.69 MAF annually. At Kalabag dam the 83.6 percent discharge occur in Kharif

season and 16.4 percent discharge occurs in Rabi season (WAPDA, 2012). At this site

River Kabul provides 20 MAF of water while the contribution of Soan river is 16 MAF. In

1953 the site exploration along with soil investigation started to analyze the feasibility of

the site by the cooperation of World Bank. The project was expected to start the

construction in 1087 and was supposed to be completed till 1993 but several controversies

arise which hinders the implementation of this project. One of the main reason which cause
 27

the lapse of implementation of the project is political criticism (WAPDA). The dam was

divided in three sites i.e., A, B and C. In 1980 the World Bank confirm the feasibility of

site C which was considered best both economically and from the technical viewpoint.

However other two sites i.e., A and B were rejected because:

• Site A requires a lot of concrete for construction along with sandstone which does

fails to make a good aggregate when crushed and the costs of dam exceeds the

desired budget.

• Site B of the project was faulty in the opinion of many experts due to which it was

also rejected.
 28

CHAPTER 5 SUMMARY

Pakistan is one of the blessed countries which owns different natural resources which if

properly utilized can help the country to make its pace with the large economies of the

world. In Pakistan there observed several opportunities for generating electricity from

different resources i.e., hydro, thermal, coal, gas etc. However, present study aims to

highlight the importance of hydropower projects in the country where main power plants

along with different statistic were presented by using watercolor paintings which were

made on scholar sheets. These paintings clearly highlight the phenomenon under

consideration.

Hydropower is the power generated as a result of running and falling of water in

the form of kinetic and potential energy. These plants are categorized as micro, mini, small

and large. Hydropower plants aims to meet the needs of man: like electricity generation,

irrigation, flood control, water supply etc. Moreover, these have the capacity to be used as

renewable source of power generation. It is one of the oldest technique used in the country

for generating electricity. The energy produces from the moving water which in turn used

to run turbines connected to a generator often known as hydroelectricity. It has been

estimated that 15% of the total electricity of overall world is produced by using this method.

The main advantage of this method is this that it uses the renewable energy resources.

However, it has been found that Pakistan despite of having water resources and

located at the ideal geographic position fails to produce enough electricity for the country

which bring a huge gap between the demand and supply of the power. The basic reason for

this gap is the lapse of Pakistan in forming an energy policy, which can meet the need of

government. Pakistan has capacity to develop the maximum amount of power by making
 29

efficient use of its available resources. However, it is not possible so without implementing

a proper policy. it is need of an hour to create a conductive security environment in the

country so that the private international companies having services related such projects

can invest freely in the country without any doubt. For instance, the construction of Mangla

Dam involves the foreign companies which make use of latest technologies by which the

seventh largest dam of the world appeared on the map of Pakistan.

It was found that country has implemented many dams of high quality which can

were capable to generate large amount of energy. However, due to some environmental

issues and other strategic changes it was found that the most important dams of the country

losses their capacities of generating electricity. Initially the dams were having higher

capacities for electricity generation which later on reduce due to no proper policy

implementation. In the way it is also necessary to integrate the national and foreign policies

for ensuring perfect utilization of the hydropower energy resources.

Due to political instability the country fails to put its focus on the policies which

can help the country to develop. Kalabag dam is one of the major example in this regard

which is facing a severe political pressure and it was supposed to be completed in 1993

which fails to meet the target. Some of the prominent energy expert of the country holds

the opinion that country has large reserves of natural resources which have capacity to meet

its energy needs. It has been found that if the country manages its resource properly there

will be a way forward for the country.

 30

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