KARACHI:
In the last few months, millions of Pakistanis have been left without power following a breakdown hitting the national grid. The disastrous situation elicited by frequency variation in the national grid prevailed for hours, keeping almost the entire country without electricity. On at least two such occasions, it started as a consequence of the attempt to save fuel by turning off the electricity in low-usage hours and failure to boot up the system all at once.
It is necessary to address the technical aspects to overcome the so-called frequency variation issue. Organisational operations regarding power and frequency control in each power system are the responsibility of the transmission system personnel. The scope of their duties includes, among other things, ensuring reliable operation of the central regulator with the necessary measuring and IT systems, preparing specific requirements for generating units connected to the transmission system, monitoring cross-border exchanges, and contracting and accounting ancillary services required for frequency control.
There needs to be a will to reform rather than delay tactics for searching for apparent reasons for such catastrophes. The traditional ways and unskilled workforce for tackling issues must be replaced with advanced methods such as using renewable energy resources for switching mechanisms and skilled workers. Without revolutionary steps, the pitiable nation will continue suffering from such disastrous situations again and again.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 30th, 2023.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
