| May 13, 2002 | Monday | Safar 29, 1423 |
Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)
Awareness is the key
Overcharging car buyers
WAPDA’S failure to utilize its installed generation capacity during 2000-2001 because of neglect of repair and maintenance is an indictment of its technical and management ability to perform its functions efficiently. The organization’s annual report for the period, covering both hydroelectric and thermal power generation, has recorded a loss of Rs 54.87 billion at current purchase price because of underutilization. Hydroelectric power generation stood at 17.19 billion units, representing the utilization of an average of nearly 2,000 MW out of an installed capacity of 5,010 MW. Although Wapda has been citing drought as the cause of the decline, during 1997-98 it released 4.36 million acre feet of water from the Mangla lake and generated 6.1 billion units. In 2000-2001, it released 4.13 MAF to generate merely 2.79 billion units.
This represents a 54 per cent decline in power generation for a five per cent drop in water availability. The trend at the Tarbela dam was not any different. A power unit costs around 70 paisa. Purchase from the independent power producers, as a replacement, costs an average of Rs 4.67 per unit. The loss of nearly 5.24 billion hydro-power units, therefore, amounted to an additional cost of Rs 20.83 billion. Wapda’s own thermal generation costs around Rs 2.70 per unit, while purchase from the independent power producers (IPP) to meet a shortfall at an average of Rs 4.67 per unit is an additional cost: Rs 1.97 per unit. For 17.28 billion units not generated during the year, the loss came to Rs 34.04 billion. More electricity would have been available without raising the existing production capacity if better and more efficient distribution had been maintained and the generating units had not been going out of operation one after another. Earlier, there were also reports that key transmission lines vital for improving voltage of 102 grid stations across the country and for reducing line losses had not been installed for many years. Thermal power production is expensive because of the costly furnace oil and the generally high tariff of the IPPs. To meet revenue deficits, Wapda has adopted the easy way out by raising the power rates every now and then. Also, too much concentration on revenue recovery seems to have been at the cost of the system’s health, affecting the operational and technical aspects of its performance. During the last three years, while Wapda’s income jumped from Rs 93.3 billion to Rs 174.4 billion, the operations and maintenance budget has recorded a decrease. Ironically, the problem of lack of repair and maintenance started when Wapda’s army-led management decided to strip the engineers of the power to sanction repair work.
Eliminating corruption was, of course, a major concern, but the stress on this single goal was perhaps excessive, resulting in lopsided priorities which robbed the personnel concerned of the necessary initiative and drive to run the system efficiently. Consequently, a large number of its hydroelectricity and thermal generating units are out of order. This bodes ill for the effective utilization of indigenous energy resources and providing the benefits of economic growth to the relatively backward areas. Hydroelectricity being more economical and easier to produce is considered to be capable of providing tariff relief to the consumers. Massive investments are required to meet short and long-term demand of the system for renovation and replacement. However, more electricity can still be made available without increasing the production capacity if better and more efficient generation and distribution are ensured. This the authority can do by removing the inefficiencies inherent in its working without asking for periodic tariff increases.
DELEGATES gathered at a seminar held in connection with the World Red Crescent Day in Islamabad last Thursday stressed the need to create awareness about the spread of HIV/Aids — the infection and the disease which are believed to have affected as many as 80,000 Pakistanis so far. Earlier on, a Karachi-based working women’s organization had published a report warning against the spread of the deadly disease in the country. According to the available statistics, the ratio of men and women affected by HIV/Aids is seven to one. The infection is usually transmitted by males to their wives, and possibly, on to their newborn children. Among those already exposed to the infection, 40 per cent contracted it through sexual contacts, 19 per cent through blood transfusion, and the remaining 41 per cent through unknown sources. The latter can possibly include means of transmission such as sharing of hypodermic syringes, use of non-sterilized hospital and surgical equipment, and drug addiction.
Some two years ago the government had run a public service campaign in the national print and electronic media regarding the spread of HIV/Aids, and how to avoid the deadly infection. The campaign was suddenly withdrawn after objections were raised from certain quarters regarding its explicit content and how it challenged the prevailing public morality. This did not help the cause of containing the spread of HIV/ Aids through public awareness and education. It is time the government reinstated the campaign in the larger public interest, but that alone will not ward off the danger. Side by side, the government must also take steps to check the use of unsafe syringes for vaccination, indifferently sterilized surgical equipment and unscreened blood for transfusion in public hospitals and private clinics which are among the principal factors in the spread of HIV infection.
DESPITE assurances by car manufacturers and the government, car buyers are still being charged over and above the listed price for new models. The premium that some dealers are demanding range between a hundred thousand and three hundred thousand rupees. The issue of some dealers taking advantage of the surge in demand for new cars by charging customers who wanted quick delivery was raised some time back. The commerce minister had then to step in and tell automobile manufacturers that unless they increased production the government would consider allowing the import of reconditioned cars to meet the increasing demand. Consequently, the industry dealers association assured customers through a newspaper advertisement that premiums were not being charged and that they should purchase vehicles only from authorized companies. They also said that supplies would increase in due time.
The fact that premiums are still being charged means that at least some customers have refused to heed the warning not to enter into contracts with unauthorized dealers. In any case, there is no point in complaining about paying extra for a product when the buyer willingly enters into an agreement to purchase that particular product. However, the government still needs to act against these unauthorized dealers. A promise to deliver a vehicle earlier than what other dealers are promising clearly suggests some sort of understanding between (unauthorized) dealers and some manufacturers. Perhaps the authorities need to figure out a method to determine the truth about the automobile industry’s claim that no authorized seller is charging a premium. Another matter to look into is a demand for customers to make full payment at the time of booking a car. This seems to be an unfair business practice because delivery often takes several months. It is only fair that full payment be made upon delivery of the vehicle — the normal practice everywhere — and that a certain percentage of the price be paid as down payment at the time of booking.