Siemens (Pakistan) Engineering Company Limited has been granted an Engineering, Procurement, and Development (EPC) contract for the construction of a 500/220 kV grid at the KANUPP – K-Electric Interconnection (KKI) by Karachi’s power utility K-Electric (KE). The Karachi-based power supply firm informed the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday that the estimated value of the EPC contract is around $84 million, according to a notice filed with the exchange. According to the notice, the development of the grid station will enable the business to fulfil the increasing electrical demand of the industrial, commercial, and residential sectors in Karachi. “Upon completion of this project, KE will be able to import extra power from the national grid of up to 800 MW starting in the summer of 2024,” KE stated in its announcement. The Dutch Development Bank FMO provided KE with $100 million in finance last month to expand its transmission and distribution network over a 6500-kilometer area. The utility stated at the time that it planned to utilise the cash to expand its infrastructure into previously unserved portions of its operational zone, bringing in additional residents to its growing customer base of 3.2 million. According to the latest financial statements from the KE, the company’s profit fell 84pc from Rs9,443 million in July-March 2022 to Rs1,490 million in July-March 2022.