Pak-China to build interconnection grid for electricity

ISLAMABAD (Online) - The Ministry of Water and Power and State Grid Corporation of China are working to build an Interconnection Grid for electricity Between Pakistan and China which will mutually benefit both the countries by utilizing each other energy potential.

This was stated by Secretary Ministry of Water and Power, Muhammad Younus Dagha in Beijing at the occasion of Global Energy Interconnection Conference where more than 700 delegates are participating.

The Secretary Ministry of Water and Power said that the building of an Interconnection Grid between Pakistan and China will allow Pakistan to meet its energy demands when there are requirements.

It will also benefit China to benefit from the potential of clean energy in Pakistan, especially hydroelectricity on the Indus River cascade lying all along the route of China Pakistan Economic Corridor, he added.

Younus Dagha said that Pakistan is very much positioned to become energy corridor for the region and facilitate the exchange and optimize use of clean energy available in the region of South Asia, Central Asia, Middle East and China.

He said that Pakistan can play an active role in the Global Energy Interconnection.

While apprising about CASA-1000 project, Dagha said that Pakistan has a unique geographical position, strategically located at the confluence of South Asia, Central Asia, Middle East and China. We are aware of the opportunity offered by our geographical location. Working on it since past many years, we succeeded in signing an agreement on Central Asia South Asia transmission line, known as CASA-1000, with Tajikistan, Kyrgyz Republic and Afghanistan to build a 1400 km long HVDC transmission line which will bring 1300 MWs of clean power to Pakistan.

We already have Grid interconnection with Iran and plan to further enhance it. We are also working with South Asian countries to bring interconnectivity within South Asia. We have found a lot of interest in CASA-1000 in the countries of the region such as Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Russia.

The Secretary Ministry of Water and Power said that Pakistan has the potential and is fast becoming an energy surplus from an energy deficit country in the next three years due to the volume of energy projects initiated by the Government.

He said that when His Excellency President Xi Jinping visited Pakistan in April 2015, we initiated work on 10,400 MWs of new power generation and 660 HVDC Transmission Line with the State Grid.

He congratulated the four countries who through a Memorandum of Understanding yesterday during this Conference signed their commitment to work on Global interconnectivity.

He said that the four countries signing MOU represent more than 70% of Asia’s power demands. They however, need to tap the unutilized resources of clean energy lying in the neighborhood of the proposed Global Grid, in those countries which might not have developed that much demand. Pakistan can be one of those countries, he stressed.

Although at present, Pakistan might be facing a deficit of transformed energy, especially power, but has a sizeable potential in terms of its untapped energy resources. Such untapped resources have a large share of clean energy, apart from fossil fuels.

While we hope to become self-sufficient in Power generation in 2018, we will still be left with an untapped potential of more than 60,000 MWs of Hydroelectricity Power, most of which lies right across the Pakistan-China border; also an untapped potential of more than 90,000 MWs of Wind Power in our South and an unlimited potential of Solar power all across the 850,000 sq km of its area, with almost 300 days of bright sunshine.

At present Pakistan Produces more than 40% of its electricity from non-fossil sources, mainly Hydro-electricity. In the coming days, working closely with international players, we hope to explore the possibility of further advancement towards Sustainable energy.