NEPRA chief visits HVDC Transmission Line run by Chinese company

Lahore: Chairman National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) Tauseef H. Farooqi along with Authority professionals visited Pakistan’s first ever High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Transmission Line, Matiari-Lahore Converter Station at Lahore being run by a Chinese company.

The transmission line is first of its kind in Pakistan having transmission capacity of 4,000 megawatts (MW) at 660 kV from south to north.

The Chairman was briefed by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO)of Pak Matiari-Lahore Transmission Company (Private) Limited (PMLTC) – subsidiary of Chinese state owned company State Grid – Zhang Lei regarding functions of converter station, its management, safety and security measures and employment of Pakistan’s skilled and unskilled labor.

The project is on Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) basis, therefore, the initiative of employing Pakistani engineers has been taken for smoothly processing transfer of technology and eventual handing-over to Pakistan after 25 years of service.

The chairman appreciated the efforts of Chinese company and also ensured that NEPRA being custodian of interests of the consumers as well as investors will provide a level playing field to all and will welcome such mega projects in Pakistan with the help of the private sector.

At the end, Chairman NEPRA planted a sapling to promote green and clean Pakistan in line with the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan.