NTDC to hire consultant for technical study

Move comes after recent disruption to power supply in the north

LAHORE: The board of directors of National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) has decided to engage a consultant for carrying out a technical study in order to propose how to effectively protect the system and avoid tripping that recently caused disruption in electricity supply in the country’s north.

The decision was taken in an emergency meeting of the NTDC’s board at the Wapda House on May 21 that ascertained facts behind the power failure and the way forward.

The board expressed its commitment to revamping and revitalising the transmission system and instructed the management to fully investigate, analyse and determine the causes of power failure in order to take mitigating measures and avoid such collapse in future.

It expressed concern over the extrinsic factors that could cause or aggravate such failures.

Another specific concern shown by the board was lack of a well-established communication channel among all power distribution companies, generation companies, Central Power Purchasing Agency-Guarantee (CPPA-G) and independent power producers (IPPs) for data sharing and restoration of the system.



It directed the management to immediately hold a meeting of all stakeholders to prepare standard operating procedures for handling emergency situation in future. The board, while reposing confidence in the management, noted with satisfaction the speedy completion of transmission and grid projects like Port Qasim 500-kilovolt, Neelum-Jhelum 500kv and wind power transmission schemes.



The board praised the management for expediting the completion of delayed projects which have been successfully commissioned in the past eight months and had been added to the system’s capacity and stability.

These projects included new 500kv Lahore grid station with a transmission line, 500kv Rahim Yar Khan grid station with a transmission line, 220kv Mansehra grid station, 220kv Lal Sohanra grid station with a transmission line, 220kv Dera Murad Jamali grid station, 220kv Uch-Sibi transmission line and 220kv Gharo-Jhimpir transmission line.



During the meeting, the NTDC management presented a comprehensive and detailed analysis of the incident, specifically the key system limitations.

The board was apprised that two 500kv transmission lines tripped on account of fault at the Guddu Power House switchyard and resultantly, a third line also tripped as it could not sustain load of the other two transmission lines.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 23^rd, 2018.

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