Arresting Loadshedding: 3 Energy Projects Of 52MW Ready For Inauguration In KP

Notwithstanding meeting the energy requirements of the growing population, Pakistan was currently confronted with the challenge of energy shortfall that negatively impacting humans, agriculture and industrial consumers

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 4th Jul, 2023 ):Notwithstanding meeting the energy requirements of the growing population, Pakistan was currently confronted with the challenge of energy shortfall that negatively impacting humans, agriculture and industrial consumers.

Despite the 60,000-megawatt hydropower potential of Pakistan including 30,000MW of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the past government failed to construct any mega-dam project during its nine years of rule in the province, which resulted in an increase in the demand-supply gap of electricity in the energy-starved province.

"Currently, KP was receiving about 1, 873MW electricity from the national grid while its demand was about 3,220 MW, facing a shortfall of 1,347," the spokesman of PESCO Power Distribution Company told APP on Tuesday.

To bridge the demand-supply gap and counter-power theft cases, the spokesman said the load management was being carried out in high-line loss feeders in Peshawar and Nowshera districts.

Besides peripheries of Peshawar and Nowshera, the residents of Bannu, DI Khan, Karak, Lakki Marwat, Khyber, Bajaur, Waziristan and others tribal districts were also facing the brunt of load shedding while the PESCO authorities was attributing it to high line losses feeders.

Tribal Electricity Supply Company (TESCO) official said about 180 MW was being drawn from the express transmission line for merged tribal areas against 1,000 MW demand, adding the 820MW shortfall mainly occurred due to power stealing through direct hocks.

The official said the non-meterization and direct hocks in merged areas overload the power distribution system besides causing fluctuation and tripping of electricity that often caused the burning of expansive electrical appliances of consumers.

He said minimum load shedding was being carried out in areas where line losses were minimum and financial recovery high.

"The long hours unscheduled load shedding has made our life very difficult during hot summer," said Riazul Haq, a former Primary School Teacher (PST) of the Nowshera district while talking to APP.

He said that eight to 10 hours of load shedding was being carried out at villages Mohib Banda and Dheri Mian Ishaq of tehsil Pabbi Nowshera and it was further increased when the temperature soars.

Riaz said that trippings and fluctuations of transformers/power lines were causing burning of electricity appliances and inflicting huge economic losses to poor people.

Owing to long hours of power outages in Peshawar and Nowshera districts, he said the sale of generators, solar penals, UPS and swimming pools increased manifolds.

"I have purchased a swimming pool at Rs10,0000 and solar penal on Rs50,000 to protect my children from severe heat these days," he said.

He said the prices of these items were sky high that needed to be checked by the concerned authorities.

To address the grave problem of energy shortfall, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Energy Department has accelerated work on the 11.80MW Karora Hydropower Project (HPP) at Shangla. As many 96.2 per cent work on the project has a total cost of Rs4620.06 million has been completed and it would be inaugurated soon subject to contenious availability of the engineers at the site.

To provide uninterrupted power supply to domestic and industrial consumers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, especially of Malakand Division, construction work on 40.8MW Koto HPP at Timergara Lower Dir costing Rs13,998.89 million has almost been completed and electricity would start after clearance of State Bank of Pakistan for the already imported/upcoming E&M equipment.

Asked about 10.2MW Jabori HPP, Mansehra , the official said work on the project had been started at November 2014 with PC-1 cost of Rs2331 million. Later, its approved cost was revised to Rs3798.26 million and up till now 99pc work on the project completed.

He said that agreement would be required to purchase electricity from these projects for which the concerned authorities were approached.

The federal government has earmarked Rs205.38 billion for HPP in the budget 2023-24 including 2,160 MW Dasu HPP (Rs. 58,597 million), 1,410 MW Tarbela IV Extension (Rs. 590 million), 969 MW Neelum Jhelum (Rs. 4,828 million), and 1,530 MW Tarbela V Extension (Rs. 4,449.463 million).

Major transmission projects such as CASA-1000 (Rs. 16,099.255 million), Dasu Evacuation (Rs. 5,667.094 million), Suki Kinari Evacuation (Rs. 13,800 million), and AMI IESCO project in the distribution sector (Rs. 3,000 million) were reflected in budget 2023-24.

Additionally, eight projects for supplying electricity to Spcial Economic Zones (SEZs) were allocated a total of Rs. 7,267.352 million and by the end of June 2024, the transmission sector is expected to have an additional capacity of 3,750 MVA on the 500kV grid and 6,900 MVA on the 220kV grid. The transmission lines will be extended by 522 km on the 500kV level and 668 km on the 220kV level.

Resultantly, 6,985 villages would be electrified and 1,403,592 consumers for Distribution Companies (DISCOs) would be facilitated besides extending distribution lines of 132 kv by 1,843 km, and the capacity of 132 kv grids would be strengthened by 4,199 MVA.

WAPDA authorities here said that 72 percent work on multipurpose Kurram Tangi (Stage-1) Bannu and North Waziristan has been completed and expected to be inaugurated in November next year.

The design and feasibility studies of its stage-II is under process that would be completed with loan assistance from the Asian Development Bank.

With the completion of Kurram Tangi dam, the official said 1.2 million acres feet of water would be stored and 80.9MW electricity to be generated besides benefiting over three million people of southern districts of Khyber Pakthunkhwa.

Former Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif laid the foundation stone of the Kurrum Tangi dam on March 3, 2017, which would likely be inaugurated by the end of next year.

Besides the completion of the 108MW Golen Gol dam in Chitral, the government accelerated work on Mohmand dam of 800MW with 1.293 MAF water storage capacity that after completion to supplement/irrigate 160,000 acres of existing land and about 18,237 acres of new land with annual benefits of Rs2.23 billion.

Likewise, 300 million gallons water per day will also be provided to Peshawar for drinking purposes with benefits of Rs.957 million from Mohmand dam.

Mohmand dam would save Peshawar, Charsadda and Nowshera from floods having annual benefits in terms of flood mitigation was estimated at Rs1.467 billion besides producing 2.86 billion units of environment-friendly electricity to the National Grid every year with annual revenue of Rs. 45.76 billion. The overall annual benefits of the project stand at Rs. 51 billion.

The construction work on a high voltage direct current (HVDC) converter station was in progress at Azakhel Bala Nowshera district under the CASA-1000 Project for transmission of 1300 MW of inexpensive, clean, and environment-friendly electricity from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan via Afghanistan to Pakistan.

CASA-1000 Project carried a great example of mutual cooperation between the governments of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan aimed at harnessing clean energy trade and building a shared regional electricity market, fighting climate change, and increasing the standard of living for their populations.

HVDC converter station Nowshera would be linked by an HVDC transmission line to efficiently transmit electricity from hydropower-rich Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan via Afghanistan and onward via Torkhum to Afghanistan.