KPT&GSC seeks licence for provincial grid company

KARACHI: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Transmission and Grid System Company (KPT&GSC) is in the process of obtaining licence for a provincial grid company to tap the province’s potential of hydroelectric, solar, and wind power as well as indigenously produced gas based generation, The News learnt on Thursday.

The KPT&GSC has approached National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) for seeking the licence.

KPT&GSC is wholly owned by the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and was formed with the object of engagement in the business of transmission, grid systems, transmission infrastructure, and catering the need of extra high voltage electric power infrastructure within the province.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s mountainous terrain and vast sweeps of barren land are rich in renewable sources for electric power generation.

The consumers are also scattered in various localities of mountains and remote villages.

So far the national grid has not been able to penetrate into the far-flung areas, which not only keeps the province from realising its full generation potential, but also its population from accessing electricity, a basic necessity. KPT&GSC has initially identified six corridors in the regions of Chitral, Dir, Mansehra, Kohistan, Dera Ismail Khan, and Swat for the transmission of electric power services and provision of the grid-related activities.

The proposed strategy is envisaged for power evacuation of near 7,320 MW, which will be available in the province in the next 5-10 years from various hydropower projects located in the aforementioned regions.

The company, in its application, noted that the present networks of NTDC and Peshawar Electric Supply Company Limited need sizable investment and time to upgrade the system in order to meet the new load patterns, including existing and forthcoming (provincial) economic zone and (federal) special economic zones. KPT&GSC has proposed to provide inter-connection and transmission facilities to the proposed special economic zones. Moreover, the company also plans to offer a non-discriminatory open access transmission inter-connection service to any party intending to be connected to its transmission system.