Kot Addu Power

Kot Addu Power Company Limited, commonly known as KAPCO, is a Pakistani electric-power company headquartered in Lahore and associated with the Kot Addu power station in Punjab. The company was incorporated on 25 April 1996 as a public limited company under Pakistan's Companies Ordinance, 1984, with the purpose of acquiring a power plant that had been developed by the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA). The station was built in five phases between 1985 and 1996 near the Indus River and Taunsa Barrage in what is now Kot Addu District, approximately 90 kilometres north-west of Multan. KAPCO became part of Pakistan's privatization program in June 1996, when the United Kingdom-based National Power acquired a 36 percent interest from WAPDA through an international competitive bidding process. The plant was subsequently operated as an independent power facility under a long-term power purchase agreement with WAPDA. The company's shares were later offered to the public and listed on the Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad stock exchanges in April 2005. National Power, later known as International Power, sold its entire holding to local investors in 2014. The Privatisation Commission approved a further sale of the government's remaining 40.25 percent stake in 2016, although the reference material does not establish the final ownership outcome of that process. The associated station was designed as a large multi-fuel thermal installation with a nameplate capacity of 1,600 megawatts from 15 generating units. Its configuration comprised ten gas turbines and five steam turbines arranged in three energy blocks. The facility could operate on natural gas, including regasified liquefied natural gas, low-sulphur furnace oil, and high-speed diesel. Its location in southern Punjab made it an important supply point for the Multan Electric Power Company distribution network, and the station was classified as capable of black-start operation. KAPCO's original 25-year power purchase agreement, signed in 1996, was due to end in June 2021. A third amendment extended the arrangement by 485 days while addressing a dispute involving liquidated damages and outages attributed to fuel shortages during 2008–2016. The agreement ultimately expired on 24 October 2022. After expiry, the station was placed in preservation mode and stopped dispatching electricity to the Central Power Purchasing Agency (Guarantee) Limited. The company reported no electricity generation in financial year 2024. KAPCO has since pursued a combination of renewed thermal-generation arrangements and diversification into renewable energy. In 2024, it submitted the lowest tariff bids in K-Electric's competitive process for proposed solar projects of 150 MW at Deh Metha Ghar in Sindh and 120 MW at Deh Halkani in Karachi. In 2025, the company reached an agreement in principle for a new three-year, 500 MW hybrid take-and-pay arrangement and signed a tripartite power purchase agreement with CPPA-G and the National Grid Company of Pakistan Limited. The new agreement became effective after capacity and heat-rate testing of a 495 MW segment. KAPCO also announced an intention to join the Fauji Foundation in a proposed acquisition of a controlling stake in Attock Cement. Its current profile therefore combines a legacy thermal-generation asset, regulated power-contract negotiations, and possible expansion into solar power and industrial investment.

The Kot Addu power station was developed by Pakistan's Water and Power Development Authority in five construction phases from 1985 to 1996. It was built in Punjab near the left bank of the Indus River and Taunsa Barrage, roughly 90 kilometres north-west of Multan. The project ultimately became one of Pakistan's largest combined-cycle thermal facilities, with 15 generating units and a nameplate capacity of 1,600 MW. Its ten gas turbines and five steam turbines were organized into three energy blocks. The plant was designed to use more than one fuel, including natural gas, regasified liquefied natural gas, low-sulphur furnace oil, and high-speed diesel. It was also identified as capable of black-start operation and served as an important supply point for the Multan Electric Power Company network. Kot Addu Power Company Limited was incorporated on 25 April 1996 as a public limited company under the Companies Ordinance, 1984. Its initial purpose was to acquire the station from WAPDA. On 27 June 1996, after an international competitive bidding process managed by Pakistan's Privatisation Commission, the UK-based National Power acquired 36 percent of the company from WAPDA. KAPCO operated the facility as an independent power producer under a power purchase agreement signed with WAPDA in 1996. The first major broadening of the shareholder base occurred in 2005. In February, the Privatisation Commission sold a further 18 percent of WAPDA's holding to the public at a strike price of PKR 30. KAPCO shares were listed on the Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad stock exchanges on 18 April 2005. National Power, subsequently known as International Power, remained an important shareholder until it sold its entire position to local investors in 2014. In 2016, the Privatisation Commission approved the proposed sale of the government's remaining 40.25 percent stake through the stock market as part of an arrangement associated with the International Monetary Fund. The available reference material does not specify the completed ownership structure after that approval. KAPCO's original power purchase agreement had a 25-year term and was scheduled to expire in June 2021. A third amendment extended the agreement by 485 days. The amendment also settled a long-running dispute concerning liquidated damages and outages connected with fuel shortages during 2008–2016. The contract finally expired on 24 October 2022. Following expiry, the plant was put into preservation mode and stopped dispatching power to the Central Power Purchasing Agency (Guarantee) Limited. The operational consequences were substantial: the company reported zero electricity generation during financial year 2024. The company subsequently explored both contract renewal and diversification. In 2024, it participated in K-Electric's competitive procurement process for utility-scale solar generation and submitted the lowest tariff bids for a 150 MW project at Deh Metha Ghar in Sindh and a 120 MW project at Deh Halkani in Karachi. In February 2025, NEPRA approved inclusion of the plant in the Power Acquisition Plan 2023–2027. KAPCO also reached an agreement in principle for a three-year, 500 MW hybrid take-and-pay contract covering the plant and its associated switchyard. On 4 June 2025, KAPCO signed a tripartite power purchase agreement with CPPA-G and the National Grid Company of Pakistan Limited. This replaced the expired 1996 agreement and became effective on 13 September 2025 after completion of initial capacity and heat-rate tests on a 495 MW portion of the plant. The station was nevertheless taken offline again on 1 October because of tariff restrictions linked to Pakistan's Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan and Power Acquisition Programme. The reference material states that it returned to the national grid in December 2025 after NEPRA issued a determination resolving the dispute. KAPCO's strategic activity in 2025 also extended beyond electricity generation. In June, the company and the Fauji Foundation expressed an intention to jointly acquire 84.06 percent of Attock Cement from its Lebanese parent, Pharaon Investment Group. KAPCO submitted a binding offer for that stake in August. The company's recent history therefore reflects the changing economics and regulation of Pakistan's power sector: a large legacy thermal asset, reliance on negotiated power purchase arrangements, periods of non-dispatch, interest in solar development, and potential investment in an adjacent industrial business.

• 2025

  A new tripartite power purchase agreement becomes effective

  [1]Kot Addu Poweren.wikipedia.org

  After capacity and heat-rate testing, the replacement agreement for a 495 MW segment becomes effective on 13 September.

• 2024

  KAPCO bids for utility-scale solar projects

  [1]Kot Addu Poweren.wikipedia.org

  KAPCO submits the lowest bids for two K-Electric solar projects with a combined proposed capacity of 270 MW.

• 2022

  Long-term power purchase agreement ends

  [1]Kot Addu Poweren.wikipedia.org

  The extended agreement expires on 24 October, and the plant is placed in preservation mode.

• 2014

  International Power sells its holding

  [1]Kot Addu Poweren.wikipedia.org

  International Power disposes of its entire KAPCO shareholding to local investors.

• 2005

  KAPCO becomes publicly listed

  [1]Kot Addu Poweren.wikipedia.org

  Following a public offering of part of WAPDA's holding, KAPCO is listed on Pakistan's Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad exchanges.

• 1996

  KAPCO is incorporated

  [1]Kot Addu Poweren.wikipedia.org

  Kot Addu Power Company Limited is incorporated on 25 April as a public limited company to acquire the WAPDA-developed plant.

• 1996

  Privatization transfers a 36 percent stake to National Power

  [1]Kot Addu Poweren.wikipedia.org

  National Power acquires a 36 percent interest from WAPDA through international competitive bidding on 27 June.

• 1985

  Construction of the Kot Addu station begins

  [1]Kot Addu Poweren.wikipedia.org

  WAPDA begins developing the Kot Addu power station in a phased construction program in Punjab.

A major Pakistani independent power-generation company historically centered on a large, flexible multi-fuel thermal station and increasingly exploring renewable generation and related infrastructure investments.

• Thermal power generation · 1996

  Kot Addu multi-fuel thermal power station

  KAPCO's principal generation asset is a large multi-fuel thermal station with 15 generating units and a historical nameplate capacity of 1,600 MW. It combines ten gas turbines with five steam turbines in three energy blocks and can use natural gas, RLNG, low-sulphur furnace oil, and high-speed diesel. The station is black-start capable and has historically supplied electricity to Pakistan's national power system, including the MEPCO service area.

• Solar power development · 2024

  Utility-scale solar projects

  In 2024, KAPCO submitted the lowest bids in K-Electric's competitive procurement for two proposed solar facilities: a 150 MW project at Deh Metha Ghar in Sindh and a 120 MW project at Deh Halkani in Karachi. The reference material identifies these as bids and proposed projects rather than confirmed commissioned assets.

• 2025

  Agree in principle to renew power procurement for part of the plantStrategy

  Background

  After the 1996 power purchase agreement expired and the plant entered preservation mode, KAPCO sought a new arrangement for selected generating capacity.

  Action taken

  KAPCO reached an agreement in principle for a three-year, 500 MW hybrid take-and-pay arrangement covering the plant and its switchyard.

  Aftermath

  A replacement tripartite agreement was signed with CPPA-G and the National Grid Company and became effective after testing of a 495 MW segment.

  Source

• 2025

  Pursue a proposed acquisition of Attock CementM&A

  Background

  KAPCO and the Fauji Foundation explored diversification beyond power generation through a proposed acquisition of the controlling stake in Attock Cement.

  Action taken

  The parties expressed their intent to jointly acquire 84.06 percent of Attock Cement and KAPCO later submitted a binding offer.

  Aftermath

  The available material does not establish whether the proposed transaction was completed.

  Source

• 2024

  Bid for solar generation capacityStrategy

  Background

  The expiry of KAPCO's long-term power purchase agreement and the subsequent preservation of its thermal plant created pressure to identify new routes to market.

  Action taken

  KAPCO submitted the lowest tariff bids for two K-Electric utility-scale solar projects totaling 270 MW.

  Aftermath

  The available material records the bids but does not confirm award, construction, or commercial operation.

  Bid tariff. PKR 9.83 per kilowatt-hour (2024)

  Source

1. 1Kot Addu Poweren.wikipedia.org
2. 2Kot Addu Power official websitekapco.com.pk