Power supply: State minister stresses early removal of system constraints

Warns of penalties for not completing projects on time

LAHORE: Minister of State for Power Chaudhry Abid Sher Ali has directed the heads of power sector entities to complete their ongoing projects before time.

He was chairing a meeting held at Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) House Lahore on Friday. National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) Deputy Managing Director, CEOs of all distribution companies (DISCOs), GM (R&CO) Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) and other senior officials of the Power Division attended the meeting.

He lauded the unending efforts of all concerned quarters to overcome load-shedding and mentioned that at present, surplus electricity is available in the system.

"However, due to certain system constraints and line losses, load-shedding is being observed at DISCOs level," the state minister conceded.

He claimed that the government aims to shut down all expensive oil-based power plants to ensure availability of cheaper energy for consumers, adding that the Ministry of Power has identified system constraints and communicated targets to all the concerned departments to initiate up-gradation of transmission system on war footing.

The minister also warned of penalising officials who failed to complete projects within the set timelines, while expressing satisfaction over start of transmission through the 500 kV Port Qasim Transmission Line.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 25^th, 2017.

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