Islamabad: The National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) has sought approval from the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) for a PKR 370 billion investment plan to expand its system and reduce losses in the next three years (2023-25), news sources reported on December 27.
The transmission system operator said that 45% (PKR 167 billion) of the investment would be used to evacuate power from new power plants, while 43% (PKR 158 billion) of the said amount would be used to upgrade, rehabilitate, and expand the national grid. The remaining 12% (PKR 24 billion) would be used for industrial zones such as Dhabeji, Haripur, Swabi, Lahore, and Faisalabad, being developed under the China-Pakistan-Economic-Corridor.
The company also stated that PKR 114 billion would be spent in the fiscal year (FY) 2022-23, PKR 145 billion in FY-24, and PKR 110 billion in FY-25. NTDC further said that it will invest PKR 165 billion in Punjab, PKR 135 billion in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, PKR 23.5 billion in Sindh, PKR 12 billion in Balochistan, and PKR 34 billion in other areas and sectors.
The NTDC said that its investment of PKR 266 billion over the previous investment period (2018-19 to 2022-22) has helped reduce its transmission and transformational losses from 2.9% to 2.6%. The company is now better placed when compared to regional peers like India and Bangladesh, and is very close to 2.5% in Sweden and Ukraine.
The NEPRA has accepted the petition and set a public hearing on Jan 2, 2023, to examine whether the proposed investment is justified and if it can bring techno-commercial benefits in terms of constraints removal, additional energy available for wheeling, reliability and continuity of supply, and reduction in transmission losses.
Nauman Ahmad is an imaginative Pisces whose love for literature and nature is unparalleled. When he's not reading or hiking, he's sleeping and eating, which gives him plenty of energy for his next adventure.
