October 27, 2003	Monday	Sha’aban 30, 1424

Wapda is nearly always in the lime light when it builds the biggest earth-filled dam on the face of this earth; when it commissions the EHV (500 KV) transmission line— the first of its kind in Asia; when it aids and abets fraudsters in milking the country through the heavily over-invoiced IPPs and lastly when the Pakistan army conjures up the present set of management-gurus for this utility and gives them the mandate to turn the monolith into something profitable.

It is even more in the news, when the last five years of the present management have resulted in accumulated losses of upwards of hundreds of billions. The news gets interesting when the woes afflicting Wapda—primarily continued mal-administration, mismanagement, inefficiency and corruption are said to be because of some inordinate rise in oil prices, animosity of Nepra, non-help from the finance ministry, the high priced IPPs and that 19,000 sacked employees were working against the pristine management’s quest for profits.

The truth and the actual position is the umpteen rises in electricity tariff and the ever drooping standard of service. The exact figures have already been quoted in my last article titled Wapda’s five year’s performance and thus there should be no need to dilate any further on the same. However, it can safely be concluded that Wapda, at present, is in no position at all to deliver and the electricity customer would keep on suffering at least in the foreseeable future. This is even more distressing, when we see the chairman now with single-minded determination devoting himself full-time to the building of dams - both Kalabagh and Bhasha. As to who would look after the pathetic electricity operations is any body’s guess.

Lets for a moment forget about the present orphan electricity operations in vogue and consider Wapda, somehow, with a professional management at the helm of affairs. What would this professional and up-to-mark management do. We would now proceed to embark upon such a journey. This quest for a quick turnabout in Wapda is necessary because the ailing public sector makes up a major portion of the national economy and its health directly effects all of us. For this firstly the assailed human resource would need to be taken care of. How does one do that? The best is to give a blanket pay raise.

In Wapda’s case, it would start by delinking from the national pay scales or the BPS 1 to 22 and instead opt for a complete new set of 10 scales: 1-6 for the subordinate— a wrong word but used only for a better understanding of the issue— and 7 to 10 for the management. These scales should be a little above of what the PIA, the OGDC, the PTCL and gas companies give to their employees. With it would concurrently be the decision to immediately amend and further delegate financial power to the lower tiers as against the present concentration at the top. Thus the Chairman and the Authority would restrict itself to policy-making, overseeing that the policies thus formulated are actually implemented and so on. However, it would be a departure from the present scenario where the CEO remains on tours at least 25 days a month with the senior amongst the cadre glued to their ineffective seats.

Second, immediate monetization of all perks and privileges would take place. Thus in one bold stroke the present rot and misuse of authority specially by Wapda’s higher management would be wiped off. This would also be complemented by the abolishment of positions like the naib qasid - a pure vestige of the Raj, the chowkidar, the behishti and a whole lot of what is arrogantly billed as the class-4 employees. The incumbents would be retooled and posted elsewhere- a situation not very difficult, but surely needing an insight into the art of re-engineering, etc. On the other hand, all this cannot ever be undertaken by a blinded or inapt management, but in case nothing is done soon, whatever little is left of the once most dynamic of organizations would also melt away.

In such an eventuality, the whole block would have to be built anew. Whosoever thinks that something akin to Wapda would ever emerge out of the present privatization effort is sure to get the rudest of the shocks,specially when the present corporatization effort does not even possess a semblance to the actual requirements. As such the whole process of corporatization too would need to be quickly revisited for amendments.

Third, taking a leaf out of the civil service, time-scale jumps and promotions to all employees,specially the engineering cadre, would be awarded. This is very important because a true stagnation has set in Wapda with the engineering cadre bearing the actual brunt. Surprisingly engineers are still in their basic grades since the last more than fifteen years with the seniors struck in the next grade for at least another ten years— a situation wherein the technical and the basic HR of Wapda remains mired, while their counterparts in other organizations leap-frog and are able to join the upper management level much before them. Ironically, most of the present part of Wapda’s higher management which is on secondment/deputation from the civil service or the army remains junior in years to those placed under them. All this leads to a disgruntled cadre and also to a bias and prejudice for each other. I would never wish that the civil service or the army may peg their promotions with that of their compatriots in Wapda, but would surely recommend giving of time scale promotions,rather for ensuring that the nation’s cream is taken care off.

Fourth, we would like to revert back to the original mission-statement of Wapda as correctly and most ably enshrined in the Wapda Act, 1958, but with a little correction to match the times and the present requirements. This mission statement would be inherently different from the new Wapda anthem(?) and a song commissioned by the utility at a phenomenal cost by Rs8.1 million (some say that the same could be made at one tenth of this cost and in a better manner). As a consequence, the distribution operations would need either to be privatized or transferred to the provinces— from where these were once wrenched. But come what may, the present so-called half baked corporatization would definitely go along with the Army surplus it has dutifully accepted as the various CEOs. This has been kept at the fourth rung because a spoiled broth needs to be thrown out before asking the new chef to prepare anew on the basis of the original recipe.

Fifth, as a major departure from the present dispensation, the planning, design and allied set-ups, but for a small portion to be retained in Wapda, would be converted into a Nespak-like entity. For a period of three to five years, Wapda and its offsprings (allow me to say so) would be duty-bound to get their work done from this entity, where-after it would be treated as a separate consultant body vying for the job like other consultants. This body, besides looking after the needs of Wapda would be there to look after and get business from the Middle East, etc— an area where too utility operations are presently in a flux.

The proposed highly technical body would have its role telescoped soon, because power systems all over the world would now be going for crash improvements in their infrastructures in an effort to ward-off black-outs suffered by the USA, Italy and the UK during the last three months. It is because of this awakening that managements all over the world would once again require the professional to make crucial decisions. According to press reports, China too would be taking up major overhaul of its power industry on priority in hopes to prevent black-outs, etc. It is also worthwhile to mention here that Wapda has relegated imperative infrastructure projects because of lack of insight and a strange inertia in decision making.

As a consequence, at least 350 to 500 MW of expensive power is lost in the presently stiffed transmission lines. One such project is the Gatti-Muzaffargarh Grids and 500 KV transmission lines, pending since 1998. As this project envisages setting up of a badly needed interconnection between the south and the mid-country generation and the up-country load centres, its continued absence portends a major disaster. Thus along with this separate planning and design entity, would come the setting up of project directorates - other than the normal maintenance and operations directional offices, for rehabilitation of the thermal generation units, the transmission lines and grid stations and for the upgrading of distribution systems. All this stems out of the fact that rehabilitation effort needs special and dedicated attention. In view of all the above, had Wapda prepared itself earlier, Pakistan would have been able to play a much stronger role in Iraq’s and Afghanistan’s re-construction.

Sixth, a very strong HRD programme would be put in place with the utility arranging and paying for at least 50 postgraduate degrees each year. Additionally, other national institutions like the NIPAs, the PASC and the NDC would also be required to run special courses for Wapda. On the other hand, in-house training set-ups,depleted, browbeaten and mindlessly downsized by the present management, would only be tasked to offer Wapda specific courses- but at an upgraded level. Here faculty changes and an attraction for the best of the academic staff would be needed.

Seventh would come the efforts to ensure strict compliance with Wapda’s approved standards for all construction, installation, testing and repair works. With it would come proper protection of equipment and services against damage or malfunction in accordance with the internationally accepted standards. Here special efforts would improve upon the existing systems for on-line complaint resolution and communications (SCADA etc) allowing Wapda to ensure correct and real economic dispatch and an optimum use of its state-of-art National Power Control Centre (NPCC) at Islamabad. Going back to following the basic standards is very important as the dictum little knowledge is dangerous knowledge stands true for the present management of Wapda, which in all exuberance and solemnity had reinvented the wheel and made it’s own standards considering the earlier meticulously crafted ones as cumbersome and inhibiting factors to their blitzkrieg.

With the HRD programme and implementation of the various standards in place, we would turn to the actual placements in the field. As is normal, requirements for provision of services are becoming stringent day by day. As such utilities need to match the new requirements with an equal resolve to provide the best of service. Wapda on the other hand has ended up with a lop-sided technical ancillary / auxiliary staff ratio, with the non-technical (support staff) outstripping all known requirements. Thus besides correcting this unviable situation, we would order upgrading of all sub-divisions and divisions. So would be the case with the circle offices. Thus a typical subdivision would know be headed by an executive engineer with two sub-divisional officers or AE’s under him and so on. All meter readers, being the first information officers of the utility, would be diploma holders or associate engineers.

Thus the problem of non-use of the product of technology colleges (opened up with great fanfare in the 1960s) would end, besides a quantum leap in the service to electricity customers,indeed a very financially viable proposal. All the above is necessary because at a cursory glance even the experts do see a case of over-staffing but under- paying within Wapda. Similarly, the staff is also found under-qualified many times. Here the example of a meter reader would be most apt. More serious thought, however, leads to the conclusion that this overstaffing is only because of a deficient senior management and in fact cannot be considered as such. Actually the requirements of good Utility operations have nearly been never understood and nor has Wapda been managed on commercial lines. The non-professional as managers could only convert Wapda into a rag-tag militia and nothing else—good at certain checkpoints and situations and sadly inadequate to take care of any thing serious or intricate.