Minister inspects HVDC converter station construction work in Nowshera

PESHAWAR: Federal Minister for Energy (Power Division), Engineer Khurram Dastagir visited District Nowshera Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and conducted inspection of ongoing construction work on High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) converter station at tehsil Azakhel Bala in Nowshera district.

The Nowshera converter station was being constructed under CASA-1000 Project for transmission of 1300 megawatt inexpensive, clean and environment friendly electricity from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan via Afghanistan to Pakistan.

CASA-1000 Project is a great example of mutual cooperation of governments of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan aimed at harnessing clean energy and building a shared regional electricity market, fighting climate change and increasing standard of living for their populations.

The Minister also laid the foundation stone of a 500KV HVAC grid station at Nowshera. The Minister was informed that construction work on the converter station at Nowshera was underway and is expected to be completed by June 2023.

HVDC converter station Nowshera would be linked by an HVDC transmission line to efficiently transmit electricity from hydropower-rich Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan via Afghanistan to Pakistan. The station would then link power into Pakistan’s existing High Voltage Alternating Current (HVAC) transmission network by delivering substantial benefits to the country’s power grids besides benefiting a large number of electricity users in the region.

The Minister while speaking on the occasion said the government was promoting renewable energy sources including wind, hydropower, coal, solar and bio-energy in order to make Pakistan self-sufficient in electricity for speedy economic growth and development.

Khurram Dastagir said that CASA-1000 project was a mega project of electricity’s trade that would usher a new era of economic prosperity and development besides meeting the growing energy demands of the country. He added all sectors in KP would largely benefit from the CASA-1000 project after completion.

He said energy infrastructure, generation and transmission projects in Gwadar, Thar, Faisalabad, Quaid-e-Azam Park and other areas of Pakistan would change the destiny of people.

Khurram Dastagir said that about 100MW inexpensive and affordable electricity would be provided to all coastal areas of Balochistan after its purchase from the neighbouring country.

He said work on the Thar Coal Project having capacity of 1320MW has been started and that a strong foundation of making Pakistan energy surplus was laid.

The Minister was accompanied by Managing Director National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC), Engr Dr Rana Abdul Jabbar Khan, senior officers of Wapda and Peshawar Electricity Supply Company (PESCO) besides other authorities associated with the mega project.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022