Pakistan to get another $200mln loan from ADB

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $200 million loan aimed at upgrading and modernizing Pakistan’s power distribution infrastructure and enhancing the reliability of electricity supply.

According to an ADB press release issued on Wednesday, the Power Distribution Strengthening Project will focus on upgrading distribution systems to meet the increasing electricity demand in the country.

Key objectives include reducing significant energy losses during transmission and improving the resilience of infrastructure against climate change and disaster-related risks. Initially, the project will benefit three major distribution companies: Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO), Multan Electric Power Company (MEPCO), and Sukkur Electric Power Company (SEPCO), promoting more efficient and sustainable energy delivery in these areas.

“Reliable grid-connected electricity improves the quality of life,” said Yevgeniy Zhukov, ADB’s Director General for Central and West Asia. He emphasized that the project’s loss reduction and revenue protection measures would help mitigate financial losses in the power sector, easing economic pressures on the country.

The initiative will fund the installation of over 332,000 advanced metering infrastructures, along with data management and communication systems, and 15,800 online transformer performance monitoring systems across LESCO, MEPCO, and SEPCO.

Additionally, four grid stations in SEPCO will see voltage upgrades from 66 kilovolt (kV) to 132 kV to reduce transmission losses and address rising electricity demand. In LESCO, at least 25 grid stations will be constructed and modernized with essential equipment.

High-loss 11 kV feeder lines will be replaced with aerial bundled conductor cables, and improvements will be made to feeder line configurations.

“These upgrades will reduce losses, enhance revenue collection, and provide real-time data on electricity consumption and grid performance,” noted ADB Principal Energy Specialist Seung Duck Kim. The project will also facilitate quicker fault identification and isolation during extreme weather, minimizing outage durations.

Furthermore, the initiative will explore reform actions and policy recommendations to improve the operational efficiency of the three distribution companies.