NTDC has planned to add 50 projects of power plant interconnections in a short span of three years.
This was said by Managing Director (MD) National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC), Dr Fayyaz Ahmed Chaudhry. The country had 75 projects in last 70 years while we are adding another 50 from 2015 onwards that would take the actual number to 125 by 2018, he added.
Dr Chaudhry has recently been called back by the government to streamline the affairs of the NTDC. So much so, the NEPRA is also praising him for his professional credentials. He joined the NTDC with an objective of turning around it while bringing it at par with the modern day power requirements of electricity consumers.
He informed that NTDC renegotiated the construction cost of Matiari-Lahore =660kV HVDC line. While giving an overview of the transmission system of the NTDC, he said, the system had 13 grid stations on 500 kV transmission line up to 2014-15, which was followed by an addition of three in 2015-16, one in 2016-17 and finally another one would be added in 2018 that would brought the total number to 18. Accordingly, the capacity would be enhanced to 24,624MVA in 2018 from 16,950MVA in 2014-15, which means the system would pass a total of 7000 megawatt additional electricity by 2018 while the double circuit line would be extended to 7,127 kilometers in 2018 from 5,187 kilometers up to 2014-15.
So far as the 220 kV transmission line is concerned, the system had 37 grid stations on it up to 2014-15, which would reach to 50 in 2018. Accordingly, the capacity would be enhanced to 33,873MVA in 2018 from 23,194MVA in 2014-15 while the double circuit line would be extended to 10,129 kilometers in 2018 from 8,605 kilometers up to 2014-15.
According to him, the power generation would reach to 34,090 megawatt on both transmission lines in 2018, which was 22,882 megawatt in 2014-15. He said Chinese contractors are laying down 900 kms HVDC line while the NTDC would clear land for them besides dealing with the issues like the right of way and soil testing etc. He has further expressed the hope that the Matiari line would carry 4000 megawatt load while the HUBCO was assigned to lay down transmission line from Thar, which would carry four to five thousand megawatt generation. He said the NTDC would develop transmission line to carry 1000 megawatt from the nuclear plant.
He made clear that the existing transmission system has coincided with 17,430 megawatt electricity so far, which has been tested by the NTDC successfully.
Dilating upon the strategy to meet the challenges, he said restructuring is the hallmark of his efforts at the platform of NTDC. “We are in the process of hiring professionals from all across the world to rebuild a team. We are also bringing the professionals back to country who left for good options back in 90s,he added.
