LAHORE: Surprises await PML-N government for relying on unreliable and ineffective electricity transmission system that lacks a crucial ingredient required for energy planning and a forecasting tool, highly placed NTDC sources revealed.
Apart from delays in power evacuation from generation stations, development works, system constraints, load position of transmission, loading state of grid stations and delay in expansion plans, the system consisting over 14,000 kilometers of high-voltage transmission lines and above 38,000 megavolt-amperes of transformer capacity is still being scanned, supervise and controlled almost manually or by an obsolete system enforced with National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC).
A vital and critical tool for optimising economic dispatch, management and operation system is missing with NTDC, sources told Pakistan Today. They further added, “Yes. A very important and crucial task for the overall system has been neglected and ignored by NTDC, which cannot make the sort of economic dispatch and load forecast available.”
Sources pointed out that currently installed communications, supervisory and data acquisition system has got less than 10 percent capacity of handling the entire system.
However, on the other hand flying in the dark, Ministry of Water and Power (MOWP) issued an instruction to NTDC for establishing the principles and processes to prepare and periodically update the long-term least-cost generation and transmission expansion plan of the entire transmission.
NTDC has tried to upgrade its communication system while signing a contract on March 31, 2010, with Alstom for installing latest tools and software applications but these tools and applications are not operative till date despite issuance of taking over certificate (TOC) on October 9, 2014.
Sources said that NTDC needed to carefully designed and implemented, integrated energy planning as a forecasting tool, with the capacity to prepare and update forecasts or plans. They said that such forecasts for the power sector were traditionally prepared by NTDC, with the Planning Commission’s Energy Wing providing the macroeconomic and multisector framework.
Meanwhile, the regulators (NEPRA) approved transmission tariff guidelines, a prerequisite for approval of the privately financed transmission projects. Whereas the system is overloaded, contributing to major blackouts, system trips, and supply constraints.
Insufficient government attention and investment in the transmission system, which links generation to large end users and distribution companies, has resulted in an overloaded system that is incapable of providing the reliable and quality supply required by the national grid code. The overloaded transmission system has contributed to major blackouts and supply constraints experienced by end users.
NEPRA ensured either that (i) all NEPRA licensees (Grid Code participants) are fully integrated into system, and are reporting to NPCC in real time in accordance with Grid Code requirements; or (ii) if any NEPRA licensees are not in compliance with the foregoing, administrative action has been initiated by NEPRA against such licensee in accordance with the provisions of the NEPRA’s rules and regulations.
