Amid criticism, K-Electric announces $400m project

Signs contracts with Siemens and Shanghai Electric for overhaul and enhancement.

KARACHI: Amid criticism that the power utility has not done enough to upgrade its infrastructure, K-Electric Limited has signed contracts with Siemens and Shanghai Electric for a $400-million project aimed at a major overhaul and enhancement of its transmission system, the company announced on Thursday.

The project will help enhance transmission capacity and improve reliability of the system, it said in a notice issued to the Karachi Stock Exchange.

“Work will start on this within a few weeks and it will be completed over the next few years,” a company official told The Express Tribune. “This includes 1000MVA power lines, grid stations and other equipment.”  The project is part of a $2-billion investment package that K-Electric’s sponsors announced earlier this year after a meeting with President Mamnoon Hussain.

The announcement comes at a time when the company has faced criticism from politicians for not investing in its frail infrastructure, which recently led to power outages a few weeks ago.

K-Electric has stated that it has spent over $1 billion in capital expenditure on various projects, which included additional 1,010 megawatts (MW) of generation capacity.

Upcoming investment in transmission system will help cater to the expected increase in load from new power plants.

The utility is already on its back to upgrade its open cycle power generation into more efficient combined cycle technology, something that would add 47.5MW in coming months.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 31^st, 2015.

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