THE National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has raised serious questions over an investment plan submitted by the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) as it seems “unrealistic” to address system constraints that have resulted in blackouts several times across the country. The power-sector regulator pointed out that the blackout problem was mainly faced by southern parts of the country pertaining to transmission lines, therefore, investment should be planned and injected in areas where system constraints existed. However, the plan lacked investment proposals for the south.
Proper generation, transmission and distribution of electricity are crucial as they are deeply linked to the overall economic development of the country. While the authorities concerned must focus on ways and means to bring down the generation cost by giving priority to alternative energy resources, the NTDC and Discos need to draw long-term plans for evacuation of not only existing plants but also future needs of the country as well as urgent upgrading of the existing dilapidated distribution network which has become a major cause for line losses and theft. In this backdrop, the move of the NTDC to draw up an investment plan for fiscal years 2023 to 2025 is a step in the right direction. According to the plan, NTDC will execute 18 projects costing Rs. 224 billion in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa; 46 projects worth Rs178 billion in Punjab, 15 projects at a cost of Rs43 billion in Sindh and eight projects at a cost of Rs12 billion in Balochistan. The investment plan encompasses various critical transmission projects, including power evacuation schemes for the upcoming generation projects, system reinforcements and stability improvements. The NEPRA has rightly pointed out that the serious issues of voltage and grid installation have not been given due consideration. Similarly, investment plans should be finalized keeping in view system integrity, reliability and sustainability to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the consumers. It may also be pointed out that this is a short-term plan and there is a dire need to have medium and long-term plans as well which should be finalized on a priority basis in consultation with other stakeholders, especially the provincial governments. The government should also ensure that plans, once finalized and launched, are implemented strictly according to the schedule and necessary financial resources are lined up for the purpose.
