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Warsak

Hydro power plant in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Approximate location 34.1642, 71.3582.

HydroKhyber PakhtunkhwaPakistanconventional storage

Warsak is a 243 MW hydro power station in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is operated by Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA). Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 243k homes (estimated). It ranks #55 of 122 Pakistan power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1960, it is around 66 years old — an older, legacy facility. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 20.2% of Pakistan's electricity; the national grid averages 347 gCO₂/kWh (54.9% low-carbon) (2025).

243Source-backed capacity
243,277homes powered (est.)
1960commissioned (~66 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1001660.

Data status

Known data

FacilityWarsak WRI
CountryPakistan · Khyber Pakhtunkhwa WRI
Coordinates34.1642, 71.3582 WRI
FuelHydro WRI
MW installed capacity243 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerWater and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) WRI
Commissioned1960 WRI
Technologyconventional storage WRI

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#55 of 122 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#5 of 13 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers1.62× · 150 MW median · 13 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent243,277 calculated
Climate22.5°C · HDD 597 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC1 · 44/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

GWh reported / yrNot available not in dataset
CO₂ emissionsnot applicable not applicable

Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.

Data provenance

The capacity and/or fuel fields on this page include a source-backed provenance label from GEM, an official registry, Wikidata, OSM, or a cross-source match.

capacity: GEM tracker 2026 (location L100000603065); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 243 MW, Warsak is well above the median hydro plant in Pakistan (150 MW). Technically it is described as conventional storage. Hydropower converts the energy of falling or flowing water into electricity; output depends on rainfall and reservoir level, and large dams also provide grid balancing and storage.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

Capacity vs largest hydro plants in Pakistan

Tarbela: 3,478 MW3kTarbelaGhazi Barotha: 1,450 MW1kGhazi Baro…Kot Addu Power Company ltd.: 1,368 MW1kKot Addu P…Mangla: 1,070 MW1kManglaWarsak: 243 MW243WarsakChashma: 184 MW184ChashmaPatrind: 150 MW150PatrindDaral Khwar: 37 MW37Daral Khwar

Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA). All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This hydro plant converts the energy of falling or flowing water through hydro turbines. It sits in a hot semi-arid steppe climate (Köppen BSh) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 34.2°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

22.5°Cannual mean temp
597heating degree-days (base 18°C)
2,253cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
407 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 11 °CJF: 13 °CFM: 17 °CMA: 23 °CAM: 29 °CMJ: 33 °CJJ: 32 °CJA: 31 °CAS: 29 °CSO: 24 °CON: 17 °CND: 12 °CD33 °C

Heating degree-days here run 76% below the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.

Climate heat-demand index: 22/100 — this site sits in the bottom third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.

Site climate & environmental severity

For a plant’s outdoor hardware — heat-recovery steam generators (HRSG), expansion joints, valves, flanges and their insulation — the local climate sets how fast unprotected steel and coatings degrade. This site sits in a benign, low-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C1 — Very low), with dust abrasion the leading environmental stress.

C1ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
44/100environmental-severity index
22.1°Cseasonal temperature swing
1106 kmdistance to coast

Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #5 largest hydro power plant of 13 in Pakistan by capacity.

Pakistan has 13 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 8,063 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 34.1642, 71.3582 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Warsak?

Warsak is a 243 MW source-record hydro power plant in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, commissioned in 1960.

How many homes can Warsak power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 243,277 homes (estimated).

Who operates Warsak?

Warsak is operated by Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA).

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