Per unit quantity of energy produced it’s pretty much a toss up between nuclear, wind and hydro as to the amount of fossil energy used in production.

POWER DEMAND OF PAKISTAN
According to a study, the provincial power demands in Pakistan are:
Punjab: The current power demand in the Punjab is about 8,027 MW which is expected to rise to 29,103 MW in 2024-25 under the most conservative growth rate of 6.1%.
Sindh: The current power demand of 3,642 MW in Sindh is expected to rise to 10,993 MW in 2024-25.
NWFP: The current power demand of 1,997 MW in NWFP is expected to rise to 7,018 MW in 2024-25.
Balochistan: In Balochistan, the current power demand of 874 MW is expected to rise to 1,964 MW in 2024-25.

HYDROPOWER GENERATION PROJECTS
There are five major hydropower generation projects in Pakistan: namely, Tarbela, Mangla, Warsak and Chashma and Ghazi Barotha which have a capacity of 3478, 1000, 240, 187 and 1450 MW respectively. There are also several smaller hydel schemes whose combined capacity is about 108 MW.

GENERATION COST
The generation cost of hydel energy is the lowest among all the options but is also more prone to variations due to seasonal, peak vs. average and other effects. Therefore, there is a higher tendency of cost fluctuation in hydel energy compared to thermal or nuclear energy.
The average cost in the year 2000-01 of hydel energy generation in Pakistan was 19.95 paisas per kilowatt-hour.

UTILIZATION FACTOR
The Utilization Factor indicates the amount of energy utilized against the total available energy. This can also be interpreted by the energy consumed versus installed capacity.
The Utilization Factor of hydel energy is usually lower compared to thermal or nuclear energy. This is because hydel capacity/ potential is dependent on the water head in the reservoir and can not be influenced. It is not necessary that higher energy may be available at the time of peak load vis-Ã -vis excess hydel power can not be stored when the requirement is low. However, thermal or nuclear plants can be run at the desired capacity and their costs and overheads also reduce proportionately.
Utilization Factor also changes form year to year depending upon the national needs, variation in needs and available water head in the reservoir during the whole year. The utilization factor of hydel energy in Pakistan for the year 2000-01 ranges between approximately 17-76 %. The utilization factor of the two largest contributors i.e. Tarbela and Mangla was approximately 42% and 32%, respectively.

HYDROPOWER DEVELOPMENT
There is a need to develop the hydropower capacity of Pakistan. The government is considering large projects like Basha to take care of future needs. Such projects will also add to the national storage capacity. Since the completion of Tarbela Dam in 1977, no major storage facility has been constructed. However, to augment the hydropower capacity, additional power units have been installed at Tarbela and the Mangla Raising Project is being undertaken.

Two other hydroelectric power projects, namely the Chashma Hydropower Project and the Ghazi Barotha Hydropower Project, which do not include additional storage capacity/facilities have also been initiated. The Chashma Plant is now in operation and the Ghazi Barotha Project is nearing completion.
The capacities of the three existing reservoirs of the Indus Basin: Tarbela, Mangla and Chashma are declining due to sedimentation. The live storage capacity of the three reservoirs has been reportedly reduced by about 20%. WAPDA recently announced plans to undertake studies for a number of storage projects on the Indus and its tributaries including the Basha dam as well as several off channel storages in the Vision 2025 programme. This document forms part of the Ten Years Perspective Plan of the Government. The shortfall in power generation would be met through thermal generation.