LAHORE: Federal Minister for Power Engr Khurram Dastgir Khan has said that the government is overcoming problems of low voltage and forced load-shedding through addition of grid stations and transmission lines.

He said the government was fully cognisant of the difficulties of consumers and steps are being taken to mitigate the issues related to transmission system to augment the supply. He inaugurated 220 kV grid station Lalian and 500 kV grid station Faisalabad West the other day and expressed the hope that both projects will strengthen the transmission network and improve power situation in Faisalabad and Sargodha regions.

Minister said reliability of power transmission network is equally important to provide uninterrupted power supply to the consumers with improved voltage profile. He said that 500 kV grid station Faisalabad West and 220 kV grid station Lalian have been completed with the cost of Rs 16.9 billion and Rs 4 billion respectively. The projects will help to evacuate power from two LNG power projects with cumulative capacity of 2400 MW.

Managing Director NTDC Engr. Dr. Rana Abdul Jabbar Khan also addressed the ceremony and said that the projects will strengthen the transmission network of NTDC in the region, which in turn will provide relief to FESCO and help address the issues of overloading, low voltage and forced load shedding in FESCO region. The completion of the project will facilitate and help to tackle the increasing demand of electricity of domestic, industrial, commercial and agri consumers of FESCO. Faisalabad, Jhang, Chiniot, Toba Tek Singh, Samundari, Gojra, Jaranwala, Chenab Nagar, Chiniot Industrial, Sargodha, Ludewala, Narwala Road, Thikriwala Road and Lalian and other areas will benefit from these two grids.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco) Engr. Bashir Ahmad said both projects have provided relief to FESCO's distribution system and its consumers.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022