A lecture on Smart Grid and Renewable Energy for Pakistan’s growing energy needs was held by the Faculty of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) School of Science and Technology in collaboration with Siemens Pakistan, it was stated in a press release issued on Tuesday.
In his introductory address, Aqeel Ahmed, Vice President Smart Grid Siemens Pakistan, said one of the smart grid concepts was the demand management system (DMS), which requires “load follows generation”. “This concept was not new to many Pakistanis, as we use residential power generator during load shedding, during that time we curtail our load requirements accordingly and in the process usually let go many luxuries like air conditioning,” he added.
He put the question to the audience as to what are the reasons that while DMS is effectively practiced at residential level but at a national level we do not consider our power system limitations and continue to over use electricity.
Hence, certain solutions can be implemented for effective use of electricity without employing technology.
Ahmed also highlighted the importance of smart grid solutions in Pakistan and the role of engineering institutes and Siemens in this regard.
Irfan Ahmed, head of renewable energy systems Siemens Pakistan, gave a presentation on the potential of solar and wind energy in the country and it’s integration into existing electrical network of Pakistan.
Dr Michael Schwan, Head of Network Consultancy Siemens PTI, (Power Technologies International), Germany, talked about network planning strategies for distribution companies with a special focus on loss calculations and minimization and reliability study of electrical networks.
Siemens and LUMS have also principally agreed on the concept of establishing a smart grid laboratory in Lahore which will be open to Siemens experts, NTDC and DISCOs’ engineers and SSE students.