Micro-Hydro Power Systems: Current Status and Future Research in Pakistan

The total installed electric power capacity of Pakistan is about 20,000 MW. Pakistan is currently facing a power deficit of about 4,000 MW. This deficit is creating huge difficulties for the consumers as electrical power load shedding has become a norm in all over the country. Currently only about 33% of the total power is being produced by hydro sources and major electric power is still produced by burning oil and gas. The hydro potential of Pakistan is estimated to be about 41 GW, out of which 1,290 MW can be generated by micro-hydro systems. These potential off grid micro-hydro systems are very essential for the consumers living in the remote areas of Pakistan and may be installed on canals and water falls which are abundant in the remote areas. This paper discusses the potential and the status of installed of hydro power systems in Pakistan. Cross flow turbines are being manufactured in Pakistan and are usually quite successful for micro-hydro systems. However, cross flow turbines are not suitable for majority of the prospective site conditions. Furthermore, custom made conventional turbines are not mass produced and for the micro-hydro systems, standard centrifugal pumps may be used as turbines. These centrifugal pumps are easily available in the market at comparatively much lower cost and shorter delivery periods. A pump was installed at a suitable site for generation of electricity, while running in turbine mode. It was initially estimated that the Pump as Turbine, PaT would be able to generate about 70 kW of power based on the available flow rate and head parameters at the site. Currently only half of that power is being generated by the PaT, under study. Efforts are underway to rectify the problems being faced and improve the power generation capacity of the installed unit. This paper discusses the problems associated with the use of PaT and measures being undertaken to make it feasible for the use of micro-hydro systems. Two major issues; draft tube design and presence of trash in the canal water, responsible for performance deterioration have been discussed in this paper.