Wajahat Saeed Rana, GM, Grid System Construction
Colleagues from the Energy Policy Program,
Trainees of the National Transmission and Despatch Company Design and Planning Departments,
Members of the media,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Assalam-o- Alaikum,
It is an honor for me to be here with you today to celebrate yet another milestone in our partnership with Pakistan.
The United States and Pakistan have a long history of cooperation in the energy sector. Together, we have built power plants, worked to electrify rural areas, and explored alternative sources of energy. Now, we are helping build and renovate dams and hydropower plants such as Gomal Zam, Satpara, Tarbela, and Mangla, as well as thermal power plants at Guddu, Muzaffargarh, and Jamshoro.
The United States is also helping to modernize the power distribution network so that generated power can reach consumers without interruption. Over the past five years, this cooperation has added 1,700 megawatts of power to the national grid, sufficient to provide electricity to 19 million people.
The United States is committed to continuing this cooperation. At the April 2015 bilateral Energy Working Group, the United States and Pakistan announced the Clean Energy Initiative, in which U.S. assistance will help Pakistan add another 3,000 megawatts to the grid over the next three years.
Today, I am excited to announce that the United States Agency for International Development has extended financial and technical assistance to the National Transmission and Despatch Company. We have equipped the Design Department and the Planning Department of NTDC with state-of-the-art technology including computers, dedicated software, and a Real-Time Power System Simulator—all designed to boost NTDC’s overall performance.
The USAID-funded Energy Policy Program is supporting NTDC to improve Pakistan’s transmission system and practices, decrease system losses, and build human capacity. We remain committed to expanding power generation capacity, promoting efficient use of energy resources, and continuing reforms in the energy sector to ensure NTDC’s financial sustainability.
A critical part of this new technology is the Real Time Power System Simulator— high-end computers and specialized software that can perform analytical system studies, educate operators and engineers, and test physical devices, including those that protect and control the vital power transmission equipment.
The Simulator will enhance NTDC’s capacity in the crucial areas of system planning, design, operation, dispatching, and network protection. In doing so, it will help NTDC provide better service and more electricity to the people of Pakistan.
I am pleased to note that through the Energy Policy Program, USAID also provided training to the NTDC Planning as well as the Design Department Managers, Deputy Managers, and Assistant Managers on various applications in specialized engineering and energy software systems. NTDC contributed to this project by furnishing the new workspace, by implementing a paperless environment, and by optimizing the technical support provided by USAID.
In fact, today, we are also celebrating the first group of engineers to complete specialized training pertaining to the Design Department and Real Time Power System Simulator. We are especially proud to present certificates to the 17 women who have successfully completed the training program.
I would like to take this opportunity to commend the Government of Pakistan for its commitment to mitigating the energy supply challenges facing the country and to NTDC for its leadership in developing the next generation of engineers for the power sector.
Congratulations to the participants on their successful completion of this training. With the improved knowledge and skills you have gained from this training, you are now ready to help solve the energy problems in Pakistan.
Shukriya.
