(National): Energy Minister vows to overhaul power transmission system

Minister for Energy Engr. Khurram Dastagir Khan has said the government will overhaul the power transmission system to avert any future power breakdown.

He was briefing newsmen here in Islamabad on Tuesday about the steps taken by the government in the aftermath of power breakdown in the country on Monday. The Minister said we are working on a mechanism under which complete power shutdown can be avoided by insulating the main point of breakdown from the network of transmission lines spread across the country.

He said a proposal will soon be moved to set up a black start facility in the centre of the country for this purpose so that all burden is not placed on Tarbela and Mangla dams. Khurram Dastagir said the nuclear power plants in Karachi and Chashma would require forty-eight to seventy-two hours to come to the system and that process has been started.

He said the coal power plants also require forty-eight hours. He said Sahiwal and Engro Thar coal units have been synchronized and soon they will start producing electricity. The Minister said there may be a limited load shedding in the next forty-eight hours but the industrial sector will be exempted from it.