Power sector [Book] an enigma with no easy solution

PIDE Power Commission, led by Engr Tahir Basharat Cheema, is the most knowledgeable energy team ever assembled in the energy sector. The team has assiduously researched the entire power supply chain, including generation, transmission, distribution, regulations, tariffs, power sector/ project planning, competitive market, and private power projects. The book has gone into power sector history and every power supply chain segment to find the current crisis's root The book is organized into twelve chapters. The first chapter discusses the premier challenges faced by the power sector. Chapter Two compares the operational and commercial efficiency across distribution companies. This chapter primarily reflects on the reasons behind the deficient performance of distribution companies. Chapter Three highlights that it is impossible to deal with distribution challenges without considering some external factors linked with distribution companies' performance. Chapter Four elaborates on the challenge of privatizing the monopolized utility. Chapter Five highlights the evolution of the generation side of the electricity supply chain. It explains how and when things got worse in terms of ownership, quality, and fuel mix. Chapter Six explains the advent of IPPs in the Pakistan Electricity System. What was wrong with the policies, and how these adversely affected the future landscape of the power sector. Chapter Seven discusses the load dispatch systems, challenges, and causes of power breakdowns/ blackouts in the NTDC system and why the system faced delays in restoration. Chapter Eight deliberates power procurement challenges and hurdles. The chapter also reflects on weaknesses in asset management and the reasons behind them. Chapter Nine is about power system planning. The chapter reflects on the planning failures of the last three decades, the role of NTDC in power' planning and factors affecting planning processes and practices. The chapter traced history tc connect distribution performance with distribution system planning. Chapter Ten is about regulatory affairs and consumer-end tariffs. It reviews NEPRA performance the tariff determination process, tariff anomalies and the current tariff structure. Chapter Elever delves into the forthcoming Competitive Trading Bilateral Contract Model (CTBCM) and finds that establishing a power exchange market in Pakistan in the current scenario seems impracticable The focus should be on bilateral contracts.

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