Nepra ascribes power woes to derelict transmission system

ISLAMABAD: National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Friday attributed frequent electricity breakdowns to dilapidated and incapacitated transmission network across the country.

Nepra said the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) failed to conclude projects to share burden of its overloaded grid stations. The power regulator allowed NTDC to invest Rs96.63 billion during the last three years to improve reliability of transmission network. “However, NTDC has failed to bring any improvement in its network,” Nepra said in a statement.

The NTDC’s grid stations have suffered extensive overloading, specifically in the service territories of Islamabad, Lahore, and Peshawar electric supply companies. The overloading caused distribution companies to carry out forced load shedding to relieve overloading at 500 kilovolts (kV) Rewat, Sheikhupura, Gatti, Multan and Shikarpur grid stations, and 220kV Burhan, New Kot Lakhpat, Kassowal, Mardan, Bannu, Vehari, Muzaffargarh and Hala road grid stations.

Nepra said the situation will further be worsened in July and August if NTDC doesn’t take emergency measures. It asked the NTDC “to forthwith prepare and implement a prioritised plan for elimination of its overloading and network issues”.

The power regulator further said repeated power breakdowns, persistent overloading of NTDC’s grid stations, delay in projects related to transmission lines and grid stations, issues of power evacuation from plants, and additional 4 to 5 hours load shedding indicate poor state of affairs of NTDC. “NTDC failed to intimate information regarding constraints in its network to the Nepra,” it added.

The last government of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) added 11,000 megawatts to the grid. But, there is much less supply of electricity than demand and in urban centres people are facing up to eight hours of daily load shedding, while rural areas are faced with 10 to 14 hours of breakdowns with very much low voltage. In the previous government of Pakistan Peoples Party, the power load shedding spanned over up to 18 hours a day.

The Power Division said electricity demand was 23,859 megawatts and generation stood at 21,500MW, depicting a shortfall of 2,359MW on Friday. An official of the ministry of power told The News that power generation was not an issue, but weak transmission and distribution system was the principal cause of shortfall.

Last government focused on boosting power generation, while upgradation of transmission and distribution systems was not carried forward with such zeal. Some transmission and distribution projects have been complete in Punjab, while no mega project saw daylight in other three provinces.

Officials said circular debt that reached to Rs579 billion is also a major catalyst to reemerging power crisis.