BEIJING, Sep 6 (APP): As one of the key projects of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Matiari to Lahore ±660 kV High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Transmission Line Project is surely providing stable power supply for households, key customers and public services during Pakistan’s flood season.
Under the impact of severe flood, water logging appeared in some low-lying areas around two converter stations of Matiari and Lahore. As the water level rises, especially the Indus River, about 3 kilometers west of the Matiari station, will see its upstream flood peaks in the next few days. In this situation, the management office of the project actively organized flood prevention preparations to ensure the safe and stable operation of HVDC equipment and power supply, CEN reported.
The project staff tracked changes of flood situation through a variety of channels, analyzed geographical location, natural environment and hydrogeology, paid close attention to the weather and flood dynamics, and took round-the-clock water standing monitoring in the station area, aiming to report and deal with the possible danger in the first place.
They focused on the preparation of flood control materials, drainage facilities, and emergency power supplies, and re-tested the emergency pump function to ensure that it was in a real-time standby state. They also improved the flood control facilities in relevant stations and placed sandbags to prevent floods from the equipment areas.
In addition, the project carried out flood control emergency drills to ensure that all staff could have a solid grasp of flood control knowledge and respond quickly, effectively and orderly to the devastating floods.
Early this month, the project marked its first anniversary of commercial operation. Despite unfavorable weather conditions, the project maintained a safe and stable operation for 365 days with an availability rate of 99.84% over the past year. During the period, it provided consistent, high-quality and clean electricity for nearly 10 million local households, and its cumulative electricity transmission amount reached approximately 12.7 billion KWH.
According to the latest statistics released by Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority, the total death toll from this season’s monsoon rains and subsequent floods since mid-June has risen to around 1,290 along with 12,588 injured.
In response to the overwhelming negative impact of flooding, humanitarian assistance from various countries including China started to flow into Pakistan. According to reports, China will provide another RMB 300 million of emergency supplies to Pakistan to help it tackle floods. And the first batch of 3,000 tents China donated has already been delivered to disaster-hit people in Pakistan.
