Matiari-Lahore transmission line becomes operational

LAHORE: Pakistan’s first private sector Matiari-Lahore high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line has become operational on Wednesday.

"The flagship project under CPEC has achieved its commercial operation date successfully on September 1, 2021as per agreed timeline between National Transmission and Despatch Company Ltd (NTDC) and Pak Matiari-Lahore Transmission Line Company (PMLTC)," a statment said. A spokesman of NTDC said as many as eight power tests on different voltage levels were performed successfully prior to its COD.

a ceremony was held at WAPDA House Lahore, attended by Managing Director NTDC Engr. Azaz Ahmad and Ms Zhang Lei, President and CEO of PMLTC and other reps from both companies were also present on the occasion.

Managing Director NTDC Azaz Ahmad appreciated the Chinese company for completion of the project in time. "The first ±660 kV HVDC Matiari Lahore Transmission Line will bring stability in NTDC transmission network after having crossed many bridges successfully," Ahmad said.

The 878 kilometers 4000 MW project has been completed by Pak-Matiari Lahore Transmission Company (Pvt) Limited, on Built-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) basis for a term of 25 years.

The project will evacuate power from the new generating units located in the south including Thar coal-based projects.

The Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet in July 2017 approved the Security Package Documents i.e. Implementation Agreement (lA) and Transmission Services Agreement (TSA) which were subsequently executed in May 2018. The NTDC will be responsible for operation and maintenance of the transmission line.

HVDC technology is a maiden addition in the national grid of the country, though it’s been widely used for a long time around the world, and the need of long-distance high-power transmission from generating stations in the far-flung areas towards densely located load centers.