KARACHI, Nov 23: A large number of Karachi Electric Supply Corporation consumers are certain that the new electricity meters supplied by the power utility run faster than the old ones. The KESC strongly denies the accusation. All the same, the controversy over the new electricity meters will continue to rage until a third party tests the new meters.
Over 44,000 residential and commercial units, besides 8,800 industrial ones have received new meters from the KESC.
The power utility plans to replace all the 1,800,000 meters in the city. Unlike the old Chinese meters, the new ones have been manufactured by two local companies.
In the first phase, the KESC is installing new meters in those localities where power theft was rampant.
According to Syed Waqar Hussain, a resident of Gulistan-i-Jauhar, his new electricity meter runs twice as fast as the old one. “And I am not the only complainant in my locality. Most people feel sure that the newly-installed meters run faster than the old ones,” he said, complaining, “We asked our union council Nazim to take up the matter with the KESC, who promised to do so, but went back on his words afterwards saying that the city government has no influence with the KESC,” he said.
Mr Hussain said he had submitted an application to the area billing zone, requesting that his new electricity meter be tested. He added that no action had been taken on his application.
When contacted, KESC officials pointed out that mobile testing vans of the power utility could find out at the doorstep of a consumer whether his electricity meter ran fast or not. They added that the meter installation exercise would continue and in the first phase some 700,000 meters would be replaced by June, 2004.
“Installed 30 or 40 years ago, the old meters have become slow now. These metallic meters have become eroded over the years. They should have been replaced long ago. Since the old electricity meters run slow, consumers feel that their new meters run fast, while they are using the same power load,” they explained.
However, a lot of people argue that since the KESC enjoys little public confidence, a third party should test new meters.
Sindh chief minister’s adviser on Home affairs, Aftab Shaikh, told Dawn that an inefficient and corrupt organization like the KESC had no moral authority to test its own electricity meters.
He observed that the KESC had installed such meters which ran faster than the old ones, so that the power utility could earn more revenue which it needed because of high transmission and distribution losses.
“A third party should test these electricity meters. In legal matters, in case of a dispute between two parties, an umpire is nominated. In this conflict between consumers and the KESC, an independent regulatory authority should be set up,” he said.
The chairman of the Electrical department of the NED University of Engineering and Technology, Dr Talat Altaf, suggested that precision laboratories, which tested instruments for the Space and Upper Atmospheric Research Commission, Dr A.Q. Khan Laboratory and other scientific institutions could be asked to test KESC meters as well.
He said the NED electrical laboratory did not have such equipment as to test the KESC meters.
