April 17, 2007	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 28, 1428

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ISLAMABAD, April 16: The federal government has directed the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) to expedite its expansion plan with more investment, ensure smooth power supply in the summer and resolve the issue of Rs19 billion dues with the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) without wasting further time.

The Sindh government has agreed to pay Rs500million to the KESC within a week which would be passed on to Wapda.

However, the KESC is not in a position to clear all outstanding dues of Wapda and resolve the issue permanently as provincial government departments and other state-run organisations have not paid the KESC dues on time and because of this the KESC is unable to clear all Wapda dues.

Federal Minister for Water and Power Liaquat Ali Jatoi on Monday reviewed the power situation in Karachi and other related issues with representatives of the Karachi Electricity Supply Company (KESC), Sindh government, Karachi Water Supply and Sewerage Board and Central Board of Revenue (CBR).

"Karachi is the business hub of the country and we would not throw it in the dark," Mr Jatoi observed during the meeting.

He directed the KESC representatives to avoid unnecessary load-shedding in the city and don’t repeat mistakes of the past when the city had witnessed unprecedented load-shedding.

Mr Jatoi stressed the need for taking energy conservation measures to cope with the energy demand in future. He directed the Sindh government and the Karachi Water Supply and Sewerage Board to pay outstanding dues of the KESC at the earliest.

During the meeting, KESC officials held out an assurance that the amount received from the Sindh government and other state-owned organizations would be passed on to Wapda immediately to clear its dues.The KESC representatives also told the meeting that a power plant of 50 megawatt would be made operational from August this year under its expansion plan.

They said that an energy conservation plan was being introduced to save power to meet summer requirements.

Mr Jatoi also visited the National Power Control Centre (NPCC) and Power Dispatch Centre in Islamabad. He was briefed by the General Manager of the NPCC about the function and performance of the centre.

The minister was informed that the main function of the NPCC included issuing dispatch instructions to power plants, switching instructions to grid stations, keeping a balance between demand and supply and online monitoring of the power flow and the transmission network.

The minister was told that the NPCC was being upgraded and modernized at an estimated cost of Rs2895 million with the installation of the latest equipment and machinery. The project includes replacement of existing SCADA system with modern lines at NPCC, upgradation of existing telecom system, installation and commissioning of new remote terminal units, setting up of eight basic regional control centres in distribution companies (Discos) with telephone and map facilities.