The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is considering providing a $250 million loan to support the development of power transmission lines in Pakistan.
The loan would be part of the power transmission strengthening project, which aims to expand the high-voltage transmission network in the countrys northern region. This project aligns with the government’s goal of ensuring sufficient, reliable, clean, cost-effective energy for sustainable economic growth.
The projects primary objective is to enhance grid stability, energy security, and transmission capacity to accommodate additional clean hydropower. By expanding the transmission network, the project will address issues related to high generation costs and the demand-supply gap.
Furthermore, the project aims to reduce transmission losses in the targeted area by replacing old transmission lines. It will also support the government’s reform of state-owned enterprises by enhancing the institutional and financial management, system operation, and project management capacity of the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC).
According to the documents provided by ADB, the project involves the construction of a 500kV double circuit transmission line from the Karot hydropower plant switchyard to the grid station in Islamabad, with a new switching station at Maira.
The power transmission strengthening project will consist of phased investments in several subprojects and will also focus on building the capacity of NTDC, which is responsible for bulk power transmission to distribution companies in Pakistan.
?With the existing transmission network already overloaded, additional transmission lines and supporting infrastructure, such as switching stations, are essential to efficiently distribute electricity generated by new hydropower plants to the national grid and ultimately to consumers.
Pakistan has significant potential for hydropower as a renewable energy source, and various initiatives are underway to develop hydropower plants. The government estimates that the country’s total hydropower generating capacity is around 60,000MW, of which only 7,116MW has been installed so far.