Load-Shedding In Karachi Hits 14 Hours/Day As Fluctuations Trip Nuclear Power Station

[hatrack]

KARACHI: Load shedding in the city has peaked at 14 hours but the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) claims there has been only eight hours of power outage, divided in 4 cycles in 24 hours. Five units of the Bin Qasim Power Station have been operational but the maximum generation capacity has gone down from 1260 MW to merely 825 MW. The first unit is out of service, depriving the city of 180 MW out of its potential 210 MW, he added.

Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP) sources told Daily Times that power supply to KESC was suspended when KANUPP tripped due to high power fluctuations in the transmission lines at 11:25 a.m. Engineers struggled to fix the problem by shifting the load to a local KANUPP system, but the plant finally tripped at 11:55 a.m.

The utility stands to lose 80 MW on Sunday. No concrete efforts have been made to fix the Korangi Thermal Power Station (KTPS), which could add 70 MW. The utility is waiting for Japanese engineers to come and fix the faults. Continuous operation of the KANUPP and KTPS would assure a 150-MW supply, decreasing the duration of load shedding. No serious efforts have been made to sign contracts with foreign power firms as the utility keeps claiming, said KESC sources.

A KESC general manager who chose to remain anonymous told Daily Times that the power demand on Saturday remained at 2,200 MW while total supply was 1,600 MW, a shortage of 600 MW. On Sunday, there was a demand of 2,100 MW since shops were closed, decreasing load shedding. There is still a supply of 400 MW from WAPDA, which, if disconnected, would increase the gap between supply and demand to between 700 and 900 MW. The DHA plant has been supplying 80 MW, while Tapal and Gul Ahmed have been supplying 120 MW each.

EDIT

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C03%5C31%5Cstory_31-3-2008_pg12_5

[JohnWxy]

1. good post.