ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is set to give $200 million to upgrade and modernize the power distribution infrastructure in Pakistan, thus enhancing the reliability of the electricity supply.
Reducing significant energy losses in the transmission line and increasing the infrastructure’s resilience to climate change and disaster-related risks are the two most important services that the Power Distribution Strengthening Project will engage in.
The first phase of the project will benefit three main distribution companies, Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO), Multan Electric Power Company (MEPCO), and Sukkur Electric Power Company (SEPCO), in terms of more sustainable energy supply in the regions.
According to Yevgeniy Zhukov, ADB Director General for Central and West Asia, “Reliable grid-connected electricity improves the quality of life”. He said that mitigation of the financial loss in the power sector, by reducing energy losses and protecting revenue, would relieve economic stress on the country.
It will finance the construction of more than 332,000 advanced metering infrastructures with data management and communication systems as well as 15,800 online transformer performance monitoring systems at LESCO, MEPCO, and SEPCO.
Providing for the upgrade of four grid stations in SEPCO from 66 kilovolts (kV) to 132 kV will reduce transmission losses and make provision for escalating electricity demand. In LESCO, at least 25 grid stations are to be constructed and modernized with necessary equipment.
High-loss 11-kV feeder lines will be replaced with aerial bundled conductor cables, and basic modifications of the feeder line configuration will take place. These upgrades will reduce losses, enhance revenue collection, and provide real-time data on electricity consumption and grid performance, said ADB Principal Energy Specialist Seung Duck Kim.
In addition, the project will help to identify and isolate faults faster during bad weather, reducing outage times. Moreover, the project will address the reform actions and policy recommendations meant to increase the operational efficiency of the three distribution companies. This project is part of ADB’s overarching efforts to manage climate adaptation issues.
