March, 14 2005	Monday	03 Safar 1426

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ISLAMABAD, March 13: Inaccurate and insecure metering systems of power companies are adding to transmission losses and need urgent improvement to avoid new disputes among the companies, it is learnt.

Official sources told Dawn here on Saturday that Wapda was seeking immediate permission from the federal government to procure advanced metering system at a cost of Rs1 billion to substantially reduce its huge transmission losses.

The installation of accurate and secure metering system at delivery points is the fundamental requirement of energy transfer deals between the participating companies.

Wapda informed the higher authorities that it would not seek any funding from the government and that a loan will be obtained from banks and other financial institutions to import some highly reliable metering system.

“To eliminate the possibility of any disputes in the future, and harmonize metering arrangements with international standards, it is envisaged to install electronic energy meters in separate enclosures, having independent current transformers (CTs) and potential transformers (PTs), having matching accuracy to minimize metering discrepancies,” Wapda informed the Planning and Development Division.

The proposed new system, Wapda maintained, will be a landmark in the energy metering system of its unbundled entities. Apart from purchase and sale of energy, the new metering system will also facilitate calculation of transmission losses more accurately for the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) network and the networks under control of distribution companies (DISCOs).

Moreover, it will have the facility of half-hourly readings, on-line, through a communication line, which will facilitate on-line trading in the Competitive Market Operation (CMO), being envisaged after 2009-12.

Wapda also informed the federal authorities that the metering system of the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) had been installed with due care with respect to the system’s security.

However, at other delivery points, the existing CTs/PTs and the control room instrumentation fed therefrom were so located that the newly inserted revenue metering system cannot be fully secure to operational problems. Separate secured metering systems are, therefore, required to account for energy delivered to distribution entities for the purpose of accurate billing.

At present, primary and back-up metering systems have been installed at all delivery points between Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and NTDC. However, meters installed at delivery points between NTDC and Generation Companies (GENCOs), NTDC and Hydel Stations, NTDC to DISCOs and DISCO to DISCO, are installed in the control rooms of respective power stations and grid stations and these meters are connected to the existing CTs and PTs. In a large number of cases, the accuracy class of CTs and PTs “does not match with the accuracy class of these meters”, Wapda authorities say.

“This system may result in some disputes due to discrepancies in the metered parameters,” Wapda informed the Planning and Development Division.

The main objective of the proposed programme is to install accurate and secured metering system with dedicated CTs/PTs of 0.2 accuracy class at all metering delivery points located at various grid stations and power stations in separate air-conditioned rooms, with provision for remote meter reading/data collection through the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).

The present energy metering system at delivery points are fed through the CTs/PTs which are mostly of 0.5 class and are also used for other metering, protection and control purposes.

Wapda plans to install the new metering system during 2004-05 to be commissioned by the year 2005-06. The equipment to be installed under the programme will not create noise or any other environmental hazard, its officials claim.