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| June 16, 2006 | Friday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 19, 1427 |
‘No KESC system uplift for 15 years’
LAHORE, June 15: No system augmentation has been carried out in the Karachi Electric Supply Company during the last 15 years and things have now spun out of everyone’s control, claims Tanzim Hussain Naqvi, former member (power) of Wapda and managing director of the KESC.
Dilating upon his point of view, he said that in 1988-89, when he was KESC’s managing director, an Asian Development Bank loan was sanctioned for the rehabilitation and augmentation of the company’s power system. Foreign consultants were appointed to process the augmentation work, but the award could not be finalised due to the highest level political pressure, and the ADB suspended the loan.
He said the loan remained suspended for seven years - from 1988 to 1995. The system’s capacity was not enhanced, but the load was increasing during the period at the rate of 9-10 per cent, annually, he added.
He said in September 1994, the same ADB loan was revived and tenders were called for augmentation of high-tension lines/grid stations and distribution system, but again political pressure hindered the issuance of loan and finally it was cancelled.
In other words, no system augmentation had been carried out during the last 15-years, which pushed the KESC power system into the present crisis, he deplored.
Mr Naqvi warned that until and unless complete renovation/augmentation of the high voltage grid station system was completed at the earliest, the prevailing loadshedding, tripping and breakdowns would continue to mar the KESC working.
He said the KESC remained burdened under heavy loss of Rs80 billion from 1996 to 2006, and the government had to foot the bill.
It is a fact worth mentioning that KESC was formed in year 1913 and it ran in profit up to 1996. But, during 1996-2006, the company’s yearly loss ranged between Rs10-15 billion.
The government should have investigated factors causing such a huge loss to a company which ran in profit for 83 years out of its total life of 93 years, he said.
Talking about Wapda’s situation, Mr Naqvi said all its high- voltage grid stations having 500/220kv and 220/132kv capacity like those at Bund Road, Ravi road, Kot Lakhpat, Sheikhupura, Nishatabad, Yousafwala, Rewat and Shahi Bagh etc, were overloaded by 110 per cent.
He said Wapda had no spare transformers and if any of these high-voltage devices got damaged either due to overloading or some other fault, the city and many other parts of the country might plunge into darkness.
Wapda management had not enhanced grid station capacity according to the load requirement during 2000-2006, he said.
The present breakdowns and tripping of the system could not be attributed to power shortage, but these were mainly caused due to running of 500/220kv overloaded grid stations.
About remedial measures, he said that Wapda management should have been wiser and implemented an augmentation plan during the last five years. Now, he said, it would take double the effort to put this system back on its feet.
The KESC and Wapda would have to concentrate on system augmentation and improving power distribution if they wanted to deliver, he stressed.
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