The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)’s Power Distribution Program, in cooperation with the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) has started installation of Low Tension (LT) capacitors on rural tube-wells in two selected feeder of Taxila sub-division of IESCO. Currently the project is assisting Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (FESCO), Multan Electric Power Company (MEPCO) and IESCO in capacitors installation. Installation of over 700 LT capacitors in MEPCO have already resulted in an estimated 3 Megawatt reduction in demand, improved voltage and availability of surplus electricity for tube-wells.
This assistance to DISCOs is provided as part of the U.S. commitment to support the Government of Pakistan in reforming the energy sector and addressing the problems of the DISCOs. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) implements these assistance programs, which also support capacity building of DISCOs’ staff and Board of Directors, installations of equipment to improve power factor, institutional development, gender and energy efficiency. “Installation of 2600 capacitors on tube-wells will reduce the power demand on the feeders, improve voltage and reduce technical losses” said Dick Dumford, Chief Technical Advisor of USAID’s Power Distribution Program. “The USAID Power Distribution Program shall continue to assist DISCOs to bring improvements to their systems so the people of Pakistan get the best services. Our plan is to replicate capacitors’ installation in other DISCOs which will further improve power factor and reduce losses”. USAID’s Power Distribution Program is a three-year, USAID-funded program aimed at working jointly with government-owned DISCOs in Pakistan to improve their performance in terms of reduction in losses, and improvement in revenues and customer services, to bring them to a level of well-run utilities as in other progressive countries. Through this program, the United States Government provides assistance and support to the Government of Pakistan (GOP) in its efforts to reform the power sector to end the current energy crisis.
