NEPRA takes K-Electric to task, seeks quick explanation for breakdown

ISLAMABAD: National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) on Tuesday directed K-Electric (KE) to immediately provide a detailed report to the regulator about the causes as well consequences of a yet another major breakdown that struck the city of Karachi on November 12, 2018, The News has learnt.

The power failure fell out after the utility’s Bin Qasim Power Plant tripped offline owing to a fault in a high tension line, isolating the KE from the national grid.

The breakdown inconvenienced a large population with long hours of power outages. It reportedly affected 80 percent of city leaving areas like Gulistan-e-Jaohar, Gulshan Iqbal, Nazimabad, Bahadurabad, Liaquatabad, Mahmudabad, Saddar and others without power. It must be noted that Monday’s was the fifth major breakdown within a period of two months.

Expressing serious concerns over the poor performance of KE’s network, the NEPRA, apart from an explanation, has also tasked the utility with the details of all the preventive and corrective steps it has so far taken in this regard, within three days.

Meanwhile, a statement said the KE had already intimated the regulatory authority via a letter dated November 12, 2018 regarding abrupt disconnection of power supply to Karachi from the National Grid.

“The tripping in the NTDC (National Transmission & Dispatch Company) system due to adverse weather conditions caused a rollover effect resulting in outage in various parts of the city on Monday,” the KE said in the statement.

“The letter explains that KE’s Bin Qasim Power Station-II and Korangi Combined Cycle Power Plant landed safely in island mode ensuring earliest possible restoration of power to the city.”

It said, moreover, all strategic installations falling in the affected areas were restored on priority, adding, the KE also exported power for few hours to initialise Port Qasim Coal Power Plant that is connected to the national grid.

The power utility said it had also taken up the matter of frequent tripping of NTDC circuits in high humidity conditions under the interim connectivity of Port Qasim Coal Power Plant generation, resulting in sudden disconnection from NTDC, causing serious problems to the KE.

“The NTDC has been requested to carry out a complete system relay coordination study along with a meeting of all stakeholders to formulate a joint strategy to avert similar situation in future,” the power company said.

It said that since 2009, KE had invested over $2 billion to improve Karachi’s power infrastructure and enhance the quality of services for its customers.

“Major initiatives include exempting from load-shedding over 70 percent of Karachi, including all industrial consumers and strategic installations. Further, T&D losses have been brought down from 36pc to 20pc, along with capacity addition of 1,057 MW to KE’s own generation,” the statement said,

It added that in addition, through continued investments, transmission & distribution capacity had been enhanced by around 29 percent and 63 percent respectively since 2009. “This all has been achieved without distributing any dividends to shareholders from declared profits and, instead, routing this towards developing infrastructure,” the KE said.

Further, it said, to accommodate the growing power demand of the city, the KE had planned investments across the value chain.

“The ongoing projects include a $450 million TP-1000 Transmission Project, which will add over 1,000 MVAs into the transmission system, while two 25-year EPAs with IPPs have already been signed which will add 100 MW of renewable energy to KE’s system by 2019,” it said.

Additionally, the KE said, it was also evaluating another 250 MWs of renewable projects to further increase the share of renewable energy based on solar, wind and biogas, in its system. “The power utility remains fully committed to its vision statement of ‘Energizing Karachi’, while serving over 25 million people of Karachi and its adjoining areas,” the KE statement said.