State Minister for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali has categorically ruled out renewal of the agreement which expired last month with K-Electric for supply of 650 megawatts from the national grid on previous terms and conditions.
Speaking to journalists after chairing a meeting of Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) officers at the Sindh Museum on Tuesday, he said the power utility had to clear Rs100 billion dues of the government.
Hesco Chief Executive Officer Saleem Jatt and other officers were also present on the occasion.
He said 1,500MW of energy would be added to the system by the coming summer to reduce loadshedding to six hours from last year’s duration of 10 to 12 hours. By 2017 Pakistan would hopefully become a loadshedding free country, he remarked.
He devoted most part of his press conference to the K-Electric, saying that the power utility owed Rs54 billion to the Sui Southern Gas Company, Rs32 billion to the National Transmission and Dispatch Company, Rs3 billion to the Pakistan State Oil and Rs1 billion to Rs2 billion to the PTV. Thus billions of rupees were to be cleared by K-Electric now. “Its previous contract will not be renewed on old conditions. The rate will have to be rationalised through Nepra,” he said.
He claimed that “K-Electric’s total de-rated generation capacity came to 1,700MW to 2,000MW, including 250MW to 300MW of their independent power producers. The K-Electric had claimed that it would double their generation and reduce line losses, but they did not do it. It kept complaining that they were not provided gas by the SSGC, which was ridiculous considering the fact that their dues were piling. He, however, made it clear that even 1MW shortfall in power supply to Karachi would not take place” .
Mr Abid said it was the government that was subsidizing unit for consumers as the government was considering bridging the gap in cost per unit production, but the K-Electric management earned profit and transferred capital abroad without increasing their generation. The NTDC and Nepra had served notices to it and all required formalities would be met to recover dues, he said. He blamed that the K-Electric misguided the people of Karachi by distorting facts and denied that any political influence was at work.
About the worker union’s Feb 18 protest against privatisation outside the parliament, he said that no one was rendered jobless and alternative jobs were provided in the Sharif government, but the government cherished the interests of 200 million people. He said the union should avoid protesting and change its attitude. Had they changed their attitude such steps would not have been taken, he said. He asked for how long the government would keep pumping Rs350 billion into subsidy component which was otherwise enough to establish a hydel project.
He told a questioner that the government had rectified problems in the power system and that’s why after two blackouts in the country, further such incidents were not witnessed despite subversive activities. He said that only the area where such attacks were carried out remained without power supply.
