LAHORE: National Transmission and Dispatch Company Limited (NTDCL) plans to upgrade its system to evacuate energy up to 34,000MW or so by the end of the fiscal year 2017-18.

According to an internal report, the company has issued a mega plan of its transmission lines and grid stations’ expansion and upgradation for two years 2016-17 and 2017-18.

Under the plan, two 500kV grid stations are being added into the system. These stations would be installed in Chakwal and Faisalabad.

“Besides these two stations, 11 grid stations of 220kV will also be added to the system. Similarly 500kV transmission lines measuring 1,500km and 3,300km will also be connected with the 500kV grid stations for the onward transmission of electricity to 220kV grid stations,” the NTDC report states.

Two 500kV, 11 220kV grid stations will be installed

Moreover, 11 transmission lines of 220kV measuring 427km and 576km will also be installed in various parts of the country.

The report says the total length of the 132kV transmission lines being installed during the ongoing fiscal year is 191km for the evacuation of renewable energy projects. The issues related to the installation of Matirai-Lahore + 660kV HVDC transmission line (high voltage direct current) such as arranging of right of way, land acquisition, converter, electrode are being resolved. And soon these will be resolved, the report claims.

It says the NTDC’s current transmission and dispatch system by the end of the fiscal year 2015-16 included 16 grid stations of 500kV, 5,271km long 500kV transmission lines, 39 grid stations of 220kV and 9,126km long 220kv transmission lines. And the same has a capacity to evacuate over 23,000MW power.

Talking to Dawn, the NTDCL general manager (planning) said the company had started work on various projects planned to be executed in the ongoing fiscal. “One of the planned 220kV grid stations has been installed. And the same will be inaugurated at Kalara (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa). Similarly three others are about to be completed in Lalian, Noshehra and Mardan,” GM Rehman Maqbool claimed.

He said the PC-1 and tender works for the new 500kV and 220kV grid stations and transmission lines planned to be executed during the 2016-17 had already been completed. “And the feasibility work and PC-1 of various such projects planned to be executed during the year 2017-18 are also under way,” he said.

Mr Maqbool said the government had directed the NTDCL to also focus on the projects to be completed under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. For this various agreements would be signed soon as a high-level delegation from Pakistan had reached China for the purpose, the GM said.

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2016