Questions raised over Rs510bn transmission plan

Almost all the provinces and distribution companies as well as the power regulator have raised questions over the revised Rs510 billion investment plan for transmission system to be implemented by the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) over three years (2023-25). Similar objections were raised by provinces in January this year over insufficient allocations for evacuation of power from their priority power plants when the NTDC had proposed an investment outlay of about Rs370bn for the same (2023-25) period. The plan was subsequently returned to the transmission system operator by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) for more clarity and consultations with the governments of provinces, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. The NTDC has come up with an upward revised investment plan to Rs510bn from Rs370bn. It has responded to several objections raised by the Discos and provincial and regional governments that Nepra has highlighted as moot points for further examination. On Wednesday, Nepra held a public hearing in which the NTDC gave a detailed view of its plan as it was pointed out that even the revised plan was unrealistic to address system constraints that had been resulting in repeated breakdowns, sometimes plunging the entire country to darkness.