Model Town Society (MTS ) to re-launch shelved IPP project:Lahore

[LahoreEstate]

* Plant to produce 30MW against 23MW required by Model Town Society
* Excess power to be provided to LESCO or adjacent localities

By Afnan Khan

LAHORE: Residents of the Model Town Society (MTS) have decided to re-launch a shelved project - the establishment of an independent power producer (IPP) to cope with heavy electricity costs and the ongoing extensive load shedding across the country.

The project is aimed to produce 30 megawatts (MW) of electricity against the locality’s current consumption of 23MW during the peak of the summer season. However, the project had been shelved as several people deemed it useless and illegal. The society had earlier signed a deal with a Shahkot-based gas company to install a power generation plant in the area to produce 30MW of electricity. The society was likely to assign the job to the same company while the establishment of the plant would enable them to provide the surplus electricity to the Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) or other adjacent localities.

MTS officials said the deal would be signed between the two stakeholders soon. They said a Liquid Nitrogen Gas company was all set to import its power generation plant from Turkey. It was decided to generate electricity through nitrogen gas, as the company was licensed to supply gas across the country, especially in the Northeren Areas and Kashmir – where they are already providing gas cylinders to consumers.

Junaid Usmani, a resident of K-Block Model Town, said the society’s residents faced multiple problems due to the shortage of electricity. He said MTS residents purchased electricity from the MTS administration on different rates from the ones LESCO had set for residents of other societies. He said the MTS administration had failed to avail several opportunities for the society’s development due to internal rivalries amongst its members.

He said if the society established such a plant, it would be a great opportunity for residents to be provided relief from the ongoing load shedding. “Why won’t the government allow the society to establish an IPP? It has employed several IPP’s itself in trying to cope with the ongoing load shedding. Besides, the government would not only save power, but be provided extra power that would be unutilised by the society,” he said.

MTS President Col ® Tahir Kardar said the administration was developing the project’s feasibility report. He said he was quite optimistic about the successful establishment of the plant this time, adding that the society’s administration had already silenced the people opposing the idea. He said the project was aimed to relieve the citizens from the ongoing load shedding and expensive electricity rates. Kardar said the administration would soon announce the project’s details, including the time period of its completion once the deal had been finalised.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...009_pg7_28