Inauguration of PDC at HESCO
Pakistan first automated power distribution center (PDC) was inaugurated at Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO) by United States Council General Michael Dodman on Thursday, December 5, 2013 (http://www.pdip.pk/engineering/usaid-inaugurate-power-distribution-center-at-hesco).This is the first of nine PDCs that will be made operational under the umbrella of Power Distribution Program by United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The selected engineering solution and implementation for the program is provided by MicroTech Industries, a Pakistan based technology company. The solution involves sophisticated smart meters and state of the art data communication and management software.
The Load Data Improvement (LDI) Program seeks to provide real time load monitoring to the distribution companies. The objective of the program is to mitigate the instances of unscheduled load shedding by improving visibility into the load consumption and distribution trends in the energy sector. It will also help the power distribution companies to improve their performance, both in terms of reduction in losses, improvement in revenues and customer services.
Speaking on the occasion Mr. Dodman said, "The power distribution centers have been set up in all nine distribution companies at a cost of US $230 million in the country and those centers would provide real-time access to electricity load data to managers of Pakistan's electricity grid". He also said that through this and other programs, the US was providing assistance to Pakistan for reforming the power sector for ending the current energy short-fall in the country.
Mr. Nauman Saeed, President & CEO of MicroTech Industries, discussing the solution said, "It is a big achievement for us that we have successfully implemented this solution. It was only possible with a solid implementation methodology coupled with a workable solution. Being a Pakistani company was a big advantage for us because we knew the SOPs of the different distribution companies and have good working relationship with them."
Elaborating on the project's scope, Mr Nauman said, "An AMI project of this scale has never been implemented in Pakistan. We are proud to be the pioneers of AMI technology in Pakistan."
The LDI program seeks to automate nine different distribution companies (DISCOs) spread throughout Pakistan. Each of the nine DISCOs will have their own PDC which will provide live data to the DISCO's decision makers. This data will also be available to National Power Control Center (NPCC). The NPCC distributes power to all DISCOs and allocates quotas to them. With the availability of real time data NPCC will be able to better manage and monitor the distribution of electricity.
More information about the project is available here
