ADB Pakistan country director Werner Liepach has signed an agreement with Pakistan Secretary Economic Affairs Division Tariq Bajwa for $400m for tranche 1 of the Multitranche Second Power Distribution Enhancement Investment Program.
The program allows power distribution companies across the country to use advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) to enhance load management and reduce electricity losses, thus increasing the power sector’s financial viability.
Liepach said: "The state-of-the-art new metering system will minimize losses and allow effective load management and transparency, thus ensuring a robust and sustainable power supply needed to lift growth and job creation."
Planned to be launched in phases, the distribution enhancement program includes installation of advanced smart meters at major cities, and industrial and commercial hubs.
The program also includes introducing a modern, computerized customer billing and information system in order to improve service quality and reduce losses.
An agreement for an additional $400m loan for the second sub-program of the Sustainable Energy Sector Reform Program has also been signed between the two parties.
In addition to supporting ongoing policy reforms to build an affordable, efficient and secure energy sector, the Sustainable Energy Sector Reform Program Subprogram 2 intends to market reforms to integrate energy planning and efficiency of public sector power companies.
In particular, the program aims to support launch of an independent central power purchase agency, electricity data consolidation, measures to boost transparency and stakeholder participation in addition to ways to encourage increased private sector in the electricity and gas sectors.
The financing follows recently granted at least $1.2bn of funding package annually by ADB in August to Pakistan under a new country partnership strategy (CPS) to help improve infrastructure.
Image: Pakistan intends to meet its power growing demand. Photo: courtesy of Asian Development Bank.
