Pakistan’s fourth nuclear power plant goes online

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s fourth nuclear power plant went online yesterday, a joint collaboration with China that adds 340 megawatts (MW) to the national grid as part of the goverment’s efforts to end a growth-sapping energy deficit.
Pakistan is one of the few developing countries pursuing atomic energy in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011, as it seeks to close an electricity shortfall that can stretch up to 7,000MW in peak summer months, or around 32% of total demand.
The Chashma-III reactor, located some 250km southwest of the capital Islamabad, is the third built as part of a collaboration between the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission and China National Nuclear Corporation.
The country’s first nuclear plant was supplied by Canada in 1972, with an installed capacity of 137MW.
Islamabad is aiming to produce 8,800MW from atomic energy by 2030.
The energy sector has traditionally struggled to cover the cost of producing electricity, leading the government to divert US$2 billion annually as a subsidy, according to a recent report commissioned by the British government. – AFP