Islamabad: The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) has authorized three significant energy-related development projects in a meeting presided over by Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives (PDSI) and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission. These projects will cost Rs. 58.857 billion in total.
The Joint Chief Economist (Operations), the Additional Secretary of Planning, the Secretary of Planning Awais Manzur Sumra, members of the Planning Commission, and officials from the Power Division and the Ministry of Energy attended the meeting.
The “Power Distribution Strengthening Project (SEPCO),” the first project discussed at the conference, costs Rs. 9,014.360 million and is suggested to ECNEC for additional review.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is suggested as the project’s funding source. In the project, four 66 kV grid stations will be converted to 132 kV grid stations, 50,000 AMR meters will be installed on three-phase meters with loads exceeding 5 kW, APMS will be installed on 1200 general duty DTs in SEPCO, and 40 feeders with loads exceeding 300 Amps and significant technical and administrative losses will be bifurcated.
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The second project from the energy sector, the “Power Distribution Strengthening Project (LESCO),” was suggested to ECNEC for additional consideration. It is valued at Rs. 27,613.00 million.
The planned funding sources for the project are LESCO Own Resources (Rs. 7,296 million) and ADB (Rs. 20,317 million).
To improve the supply of electricity, increase operational efficiency, and modernize LESCO’s operations and management, the project plans to build five new 132 kv grid stations, four Aug/Extension 132 kv grid stations, 1600 APMS, 1328 km of AB cable, and 131901 AMI/AMR meters.
The large losses raise the cost of electricity for consumers, impact investments required to guarantee a steady supply of electricity and contribute to the circular debt of the power sector.
The Energy sector’s third project, “Supply, Installation, Testing & Commissioning of Asset Performance Monitoring Systems (APMS) for 100kVA & 200kVA General Duty Distribution Transformers and deployment of AMI Meters in MEPCO,” was presented during the meeting.
It is valued at Rs. 22,229.810 million and is suggested to ECNEC for additional consideration.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is suggested as the project’s funding source. 13,323 Asset Performance Management System (APMS) and 150,000 Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) meters are planned to be installed under MEPCO’s jurisdiction as part of the project.
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The APMS system will provide 100 and 200 KVA Distribution Transformers (DTs) with real-time access for enhanced visibility, careful observation, and preventative measures.
Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) meters, in addition to APMS, will facilitate two-way communication between utilities and customers, allowing for proactive energy distribution management, real-time data monitoring, and remote meter reading.
These three projects have been proposed by the CDWP to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for additional review and final approval.
Power Division has been instructed by Minister PDSI Ahsan Iqbal and the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission to examine the projects’ scope on a techno-economic feasibility basis after consulting with all relevant parties and experts.
