Report sent to Cabinet as probe into country-wide breakdown completed

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The stability of the recently activated HVDC system especially at Lahore HVDC Converter Station needs to be ensured to avoid the frequent commutation failures. An investigation into more than 300 commutation failures needs to be carried out by NTDC/NPCC on an urgent basis.

FURTHER REPORT DETAILS: The report said that, owing to a shortfall on the night before the blackout, electricity was supplied from south to north. About 5,831 MW was being generated from power plants located in the south of the country while power plants in the north were generating 5,852 MW.

The sequence of events leading to the blackout started unfolding from 7:30am on the morning of January 23. At that time, the system was working normally.

The total demand of the country was 11,683 MW of which the power generators in the south were generating 5,831 MW and those in the north 5,852 MW.

The demand in the south was far less than the generation there. On the other hand, there was a deficit of 4,130 MW between generation and demand in the north, which was being met by supply from the southern generation through hybrid HVAC/HVDC transmission networks.

At 7:32am, the frequency reached 50.75 megahertz, and, as a result, 14 state- and privately-owned power plants suspended power generation operations at 7:34am.

To control the frequency spike, power production from Ghazi Barotha Power House was reduced from 580 MW to 250 MW. However, the system was badly affected due to the reduction in power supply in the north and resultantly all power plants of the region suspended operations.

The power flow on the AC Corridor (2x500kV circuits from Matiari to Dadu/Moro and 3x500kV from Guddu to north) was 1,730 MW, while 2,400 MW was flowing on the parallel MatiariLahore HVDC transmission line.

A 500kV circuit from Jamshoro to Dadu was already under fault due to a tower collapse (sabotage) for the past few days. Additionally, three 500kV circuits (Moro to Rahim Yar Khan, Guddi 747 to Muzaffargarh and Muzaffargarh to H.B.Shah) were on shutdowns for voltage control during low load demand. Guddu 747 plant was also non-operational.

No spinning reverse and no n-1 contingency provision was present on 500kV circuits from Matiari to Moro/Dadu and from Dadu up to Guddu.

The inquiry report, in its conclusion, said the blackout was due to the system operation including additional power from the south without considering the constrained transmission pathways and without switching on powered off 500kV lines.

Furthermore, the shift operator aggravated the situation by reducing power generation at Ghazi Barotha to create a balance, but that had the opposite effect and actually resulted in a loss of balance.

This was a mistake which was done at the system operator’s end and could have been avoided through pre-event planning.

However, the report added, if we look at all the factors leading to the incident, we need to consider delays in strengthening the AC system that is a requirement for the HVDC system to operate in a stable manner.

In its recommendations, the inquiry report said that WAPDA, in coordination

us sponsors Pakistani entrepreneurs through ‘startup Connect Programme’

KARACHI: The United States Consul General Karachi Nicole Theriot Friday highlighted the valuable contributions of the US-Pakistani diaspora, who are a key partner in the humanitarian, social, and commercial sectors in Pakistan. At a US-Pakistani diaspora conference here, the Consul General Theriot highlighted the longstanding US-Pakistan partnership to advance Pakistan’s economic growth and emphasized continued opportunities for future partnership. While addressing the need for strengthening climate resilience in the country, CG Theriot said, “We are one team working toward the same goal, and the United States is committed to helping the US-Pakistani diaspora and local investors find opportunities and work with Pakistan through the Green Alliance framework to strengthen climate resilience, pursue energy transformation, and foster economic growth.” Staff RepoRt with NTDC, must investigate the “black start” capabilities at Tarbela, Mangla and Warsak power plants, as these plants repeatedly failed to operate in island models and caused significant restoration delays.

“Black start” is the capability to restart parts in a power system to recover from a blackout without needing electricity. Tarbela, Mangla and Warsak are all hydroelectric generation plants. Performance of governor control system at these plants, the report said, must be verified for “islanded” and synchronised operating modes. Appropriate corrective measures must be taken urgently. After the experience, it is necessary that a proper restoration plan must be established and all the systems be pre-tested under blackout conditions annually. The stability of the recently activated HVDC system, especially at the Lahore HVDC Converter Station, needs to be ensured to avoid the frequent commutation failures.

The terms of reference of the committee were to probe the reasons of the power breakdown, fix responsibility, and recommend remedial measures to prevent such occurrences in future.

Interestingly, the report noted that about 80% of the country’s total demand comes from the north – Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – and 20% from Sindh and Balochistan.

The power is carried through the hybrid transmission system that comprises 3x500kV AC circuits originating from Jamshoro/Matiari in the south to the north interface, which become 4x500kV AC circuits from Guddu onwards. Also a 660kV HVDC transmission line from Matiari in Sindh to Lahore in Punjab transfers power from plants in the south to the load centres of the north.

The operation of such a power system becomes very challenging in the winter season when hydropower generation, which is mostly in the north, is at a minimum given that rivers in the north freeze and the water flow, and hence generation, is much lower.

Therefore, a significant amount of demand in the north has to be supplied from cheaper power generation sources located in the south that are not affected by the season, such as coal and nuclear. This power has to be transmitted over a long distance to the northern load centres. Such a system needs a transmission infrastructure that can handle high power transfer and dynamic reactor power sources at the receiving end as well as along the length of the long transmission lines to maintain an acceptable voltage control and system stability. Should the transmission path get restricted or constrained due to any reason, the power transfer capability of this long transmission path is severely compromised.

The recent addition of 660kV HVDC Matiari-Lahore transmission line has enhanced the system’s capability to transmit power from south to north but its effective functioning requires an adequately strong AC system.

Historically, the incidents of total blackout in the country have occurred mostly in December or January at which time electricity demand is at its lowest and generation in the north has also diminished significantly due to low hydro output. The inquiry committee was constituted after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had reportedly expressed displeasure during a cabinet meeting, saying that the power breakdown had damaged the image of Pakistan.

The committee, aside from Minister Malik, had former bureaucrats and chiefs of power plants, as well as academics and experts.

Imran

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“They [caretaker governments] will be violating Article 6 of the Constitution [if they remain in power after 90 days]. No matter what they do, we will not allow them to rig the elections.” He also slammed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for making excuses to delay the polls in the both provinces.

Imran Khan said that the Jail Bharo movement will prove the last nail in the government’s coffin.

Imran Khan said that general elections are the only solution to national issues. He said that the incumbent government is committing constitutional violation by not announcing the election date despite the court orders.

Earlier, PTI chief Imran Khan said that general elections are the only solution to national issues. He said that the incumbent government is committing constitutional violation by not announcing the election date despite the court orders. The PTI chief made the statement while chairing an important session regarding the Jail Bharo movement. During the session, the movement’s focal person Ejaz Chaudhry gave a briefing on the preparations.

Sources said initial lists have been prepared for the first phase of the “courting arrests movement.” Chaudhry said that a large number of PTI activists and supporters are ready to be part of the movement.

Imran Khan was also apprised of the visits to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and central Punjab. The focal person said that the nationals will surrender after the formal announcement of Imran Khan.

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This arrangement, Salman argues, has expanded the universe of customers within a certain bank that they can lend to now by about 15-30%. From the active accounts at a bank, the credit scoring system of AdalFi qualifies between 15-30% of additional bank customers for loans. In the initial phase, AdalFi is enabling banks to give out unsecured loans, which will be followed by credit scoring for loans that are collateralised. The startup does not lend any money itself. AdalFi’s monetisation model is also what sets it apart. From whatever income the bank earns from the loan disbursed using AdalFi’s credit scoring system, it gets a percentage share from that which forms its become. But since those loans are being given on AdalFi’s credit scoring model, if there is a default on any of these loans, the outstanding principal amount, on a pro rata basis, is deducted from the fee that is due to AdalFi. “What that means is we really have skin in the game. If our models blow up, we wouldnt make any money and we only make money when bank loans that are actually repaid. This creates a tremendous alignment of interests,” says Salman Akhtar. So far, AdalFi has signed up 14 commercial banks to anable them for such lending system. The number of loans disbursed so far is 70,000 using the fintech company’s credit scoring model, with the NPLs (non-performing loans) significantly below 0.1%. “That doesnt mean it is going to stay this way. A 0.1% is in itself too low an NPL but that’s the data right now.” Part of the reason why AdalFi might have such low NPL’s because it is data rich because of Techlogix’s partnership with banks. From conventional commercial plans, AdalFi will soon be moving on to signing partnerships with digital banks. “For the digital banks, we are very natural partners because they will only start making serious money when they start giving out loans. Transaction fee income is not going to add up to much. We are a very natural fit for all the digital banks,” Salman says. Since AdalFi does not do any lending, the bulk of the funding will go towards increasing the team size and operational expenses.

Thar coal: energy security?

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The Thar coal based power plants rely on a constant supply of coal from the mine, any obstacles in this chain would affect the operations of the power plants and can potentially lead to rolling blackouts or worse. Energy experts have also questioned Pakistan’s ability to finance more of the proposed coal fleet because China and Japan, two of the largest financiers of coal units in developing nations, have recently withdrawn their support for fossil fuel projects due to pressure from environmentalists and Western governments. And to cap it all, according to the Finance supplementary bill, the government has increased sales tax from 17 to 18% on locally produced Coal, a subsequent impact of which is bound to be seen in commodity prices. The Energy minister Khurram Dastagir, however, told the media that Pakistan plans to increase domestic coal-fired power capacity to 10 gigawatts (GW) in the medium-term, from 2.31 GW currently. How the country plans to achieve these ambitious targets is what needs to be explained.