MIRPUR, AJK: National Transmission and Despatch Company Limited (NTDCL) Managing Director Tahir Mahmood has said that the company has commissioned one 500-kV grid station and eight 220-kV stations during the last six months across the country, which will strengthen transmission network, voltage profile and reduce line losses.
He revealed this during his briefing to a 15-member delegation of National Management College. The delegation comprising senior officers of the Federal and Provincial Civil Services was led by Mr Noor Salam Shah. Mr Tahir Mahmood gave briefing on power sector as well as role and functions of NTDCL. He elaborated its four major functions comprising Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA), System Operator, Transmission Network Operator and Contract Registrar and Power Exchange Administrator which has yet to be operational. He said that NTDCL acted as backbone of power sector, which maintains thirteen 500 kV grid stations, thirty-five 220 kV grid stations with 5183 km of 500 kV transmission lines and 9104 km of 220 kV transmission lines throughout Pakistan.
Dilating upon the upcoming projects, he said that work on Neelum Jhelum transmission line is being done on fast-track and will be completed before the commissioning of hydropower plant. On the other hand, the transmission lines and substations are being constructed to evacuate power from hydel, wind, solar, nuclear and coal power projects. He said that a comprehensive National Power System Expansion Plan has also been chalked out to mitigate the prevailing energy crisis of future energy needs which is also being updated through JICA aided consultants.
To various questions, Mahmood said that NTDCL is capable of evacuating/transmitting the present power generation in the country and also provided two alternate sources of power supply to Balochistan through Khuzdar and Loralai Grid Stations. While talking about sabotage activities and terrorist attacks on NTDCL installations/pylons, he said that the engineeRsand various officials laid down their lives during duty.
