Countrywide load shedding may start from today

[Neo]

Countrywide load shedding may start from today
MUSHTAQ GHUMMAN

ISLAMABAD (December 29 2006): The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) is likely to start countrywide power load shedding from Friday (today) before Eid-ul-Azha which is expected to continue for several months, informed sources told Business Recorder.

The sources said that the utility has planned half an hour load shedding daily in big cities but the situation in villages and far-flung areas would be quite different.

The utility is expecting 1000 to 2000 MW shortage during the season due to reduction in hydropower generation, consequently the National Power Control Centre (NPCC) dispatched load shedding schedule to all the Distribution Companies (Discos) on Thursday night, the sources added.

However, there are reports that some of the Discos have already started load shedding in far-flung areas where people do not have ample information on policy issues. The sources said that water level in rivers had decreased and most of the canals were closed due to which power generation had reduced to 1500 MW.

The sources said that the country's oil import bill would increase manifold during load shedding period as the utility has to rely on thermal power whether it is produced by public sector plants or by the Independent Power Producers (IPPs).

According to the IESCO spokesman, due to shortfall of power generation, electricity is being suspended from half to an hour one or more times in IESCO region as per requirement.

According to the spokesman after assessing Hydel generation and alternate sources WAPDA House would allot load shedding quota to IESCO in January 2007 and detailed load shedding schedule would be published in newspapers by concerned Superintending Engineers so that respective consumers may avoid any inconvenience.

IESCO consumers also get detail from telephone numbers of Complaint Offices, SDO & XEN mentioned on their electricity bills. Spokesman said, Chief Executive IESCO Brigadier Shahbaz Azam would brief details in this regards if necessary after his return to country on 5th January after performing Haj. It is mentioned here that Raja Abdul Ghafoor Chief Engineer/Technical Director is working as Acting Chief Executive IESCO who regrets to respective consumers for above inconvenience for power shutdown and expressed its hoped that normal condition of supply would be restored after betterment in power generation.

In reply to a question, sources said that the Finance Ministry had calculated the benefits of two holidays in a week to minimise the load shedding on the instructions of Prime Minister but (Prime Minster) himself rejected the idea at a meeting convened a few days ago.

"We had been asked to analyse the causes of increase in furnace oil import so that measures could be taken to minimise it," the sources said, adding that the Finance Ministry estimates show that import of High Sulphur Furnace Oil (HSFO) doubled.

The sources further said that Chairman Wapda had already met with the industrialists on the instructions of Minister for Water and Power Liaquat Ali Jatoi, asking them to stagger holidays to avoid long load shedding.

The Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet has approved a transformer procurement plan for Discos to improve power distribution system.

The Ministry of Water and Power had suggested that requisite transformers should be procured on war footing with free hand to complete the task themselves or with the assistance of Wapda, if needed.

The ministry had further proposed that all the Discos should make efforts that at least those grid stations which are at present loaded with 90 per cent or above are augmented by end April 2007 with corresponding improvement in transmission system.

http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=512317&currPageNo=1&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

 

[Neo]

This is bad!

Eventhough the industrial area's will have continueous power supply, the private and coorporate business and SME will be badly hurt by this measure.
We're talking about billions of rupees in lost revenue.

We need more power generation and need to diversify our supplies, tap every single source there is!

 

[Neo]

Plan to avert loadshedding

ISLAMABAD, Jan 9: The government on Tuesday decided to divert, as an interim arrangement, natural gas from Sindh to the Kot Addu Thermal Power Station in Punjab to produce 500MW of additional electricity in order to avert loadshedding.

The arrangement, worked out at a meeting presided over by federal Minister for Water and Power Liaquat Ali Jatoi, was later endorsed at another meeting presided over by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.

However, the meeting failed to come up with a solution to the power shortfall of about 1000MW to 2000MW which the country is likely to experience in the summer season this year when its overall system demand may increase to 14,500MW.

Informed sources said about 25 mmcfd of gas being supplied to the Karachi Electric Supply Company by the Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) would be diverted immediately to the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) through the integrated gas transmission system for supply to Kot Addu Thermal Station.

The KESC would instead maximize power production on high sulphur fuel oil to meet the shortfall arising out of its gas contribution to Wapda, the sources said.

Another 20-25 MMCFD of gas from industrial sector would also be diverted to the Kapco plant. Coupled with some other minor adjustments, the total gas supplies to Kapco plant would be enhanced to 82 mmcfd of gas to produce about 500MW more, taking its total production to around 1200 MW.

Some minor adjustments would also be made for optimal utilization of Wadpa's thermal power stations in Sindh on furnace oil. The sources said another marginal increase in hydel power supplies would be made available through adjustments in water discharges from dams. These measures together would help reduce immediate shortages to less than 200MW which could be adjusted without applying countrywide loadshedding in the short-term period.

Kapco project, with a total capacity of about 1600 MW, had been running on less than 700MW capacity for the last couple of weeks owing to reduction in gas supplies and resultant shortage of low sulphur fuel oil (LSFO). The LSFO stocks had also been consumed over the last month due to gas shortage.

"Loadshedding would be averted in the country as the gap between demand and supply would be bridged by supply of additional gas to the power projects with the internal adjustment of gas supply within power sector so that about 500MW more electricity could be generated by the thermal power plants," said Mr Liaqat Jatoi after a meeting with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.

The secretary of petroleum, heads of power and gas utilities and generation companies also attended the two meetings. The secretary of petroleum and heads of both gas companies informed the meetings about low pressure of gas in the country due to cold weather which, he said, had caused shortage of gas supply to the power plants, affecting the generation capacity of these plants.

"Both SSGC and SNGPL would facilitate the readjustment of 82 MMCFD of gas and its re-allocation through their respective systems to the thermal plants including possible enhancement," a statement issued by the water and power ministry said.

The government has already lifted the ban on the import of light sulphur fuel oil (LSFO), and has asked the Pakistan State Oil (PSO) to speed up import of 50,000 tons of LSFO to maximise power generation from Kapco.

The government had banned import of the LSFO a few years ago to facilitate maximum utilisation of oil production from the Attock Oil Refinery.

http://www.dawn.com/2007/01/10/top5.htm