IPPs directed to restore telemetry links as NGC targets 95% data quality by October 31
- Power producers and plant operators must restore telemetry equipment and communication links within their assigned deadlines.
- NGC aims to achieve at least 95 percent SCADA data quality by October 31, 2026.
- Operators must appoint station-level focal persons and confirm the restoration of real-time data transmission.
The National Grid Company of Pakistan Limited (NGC) has instructed concerned independent power producers and other plant operators to restore equipment and communication links needed to transmit real-time operational data to the system operator.
The directive forms part of an accelerated plan to achieve at least 95 percent data quality in the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system by October 31, 2026. Operators must complete the restoration work within the individual deadlines listed in an annexure to the company’s letter.
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NGC Managing Director Altaf Hussain conveyed the instructions in a letter to Central Power Purchasing Agency-Guaranteed (CPPA-G) Chief Executive Officer Rihan Akhtar, stressing the need to restore data transmission from the identified stations.
The required work covers remote telemetry units (RTUs), gateways and associated communication links. These systems provide the operational information needed to monitor generating stations and support the secure, reliable and efficient operation of the national grid.
The letter cites Clauses OC 9.5.3.2 and OC 9.5.3.5 of the Grid Code 2023, which require users to install and maintain, at their own expense, the telemetry, networking and communication equipment necessary to exchange real-time data with the system operator’s SCADA system. The provisions also prohibit users from withholding that information.
Under the action plan, each concerned company must nominate a focal person for every station to coordinate with the Independent System and Market Operator (ISMO) and NGC’s SCADA-III Project Management Unit.
Once transmission has been restored, operators must send confirmation to ISMO and copy the NGC managing director’s office.
NGC said restoration work at its own stations was progressing according to schedule. However, meeting the overall data-quality target also depends on the timely completion of work at the other stations identified in the annexure.
The company’s SCADA-III project unit and regional telecommunications teams will provide technical assistance and coordinate the necessary interfaces with plant operators to help restore the systems.
SCADA allows the system operator to monitor and exercise supervisory control over power-system equipment, while telemetry links carry operational information from generating stations. Accurate and timely information helps the operator track generating units and other grid-connected facilities. Disruptions to these links reduce visibility of plant operating conditions.
The main text of the letter does not identify all affected plants, state how many stations require restoration or quantify the existing shortfall in SCADA data quality. It refers to an annexure for those details, which was not included in the supplied document.
