KARACHI, April 30: While the Water and Power Development Authority and the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation are unable to meet energy requirements of their consumers, a national energy conservation plan was unfolded at a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz at the Governor’s House on Monday. No details of the plan were, however, made public.
The meeting was held the day the KESC’s extraordinary general meeting approved issuance of additional share capital to the International Finance Corporation and Asian Development Bank without making a right issue.
According to official sources, the prime minister directed the KESC to ensure that unplanned and unannounced power breakdowns were avoided and the demand of electricity was managed by adopting energy conservation techniques, an increase in capacity and power supply by Wapda.
Mr Aziz directed the power utility to ensure repairs at the tactical level and added that there should be coordination between the KESC and Wapda. But it appeared as if the prime minister was not prepared to attribute power failures and load-shedding to the two utilities’ failure to invest in the upkeep of generation and distribution capacity, as he believed that “high growth, enhanced industrial activity and better living standards had created a surge in the energy demand”.
The meeting did not indulge in accountability and fixing responsibility for power failures in the city that had not only caused inconveniences to the people at large but had also adversely affected industrial production.
There was no mention of whether the new management was quizzed about its failure to invest adequately for upgrading the outdated transmission and distribution system of the KESC.
It may be pointed out that at the time of privatisation the new management had assured the government and the consumers that it would invest $400 million in this regard. But insiders claimed that the new privatised management failed to fulfill its commitment of investing $400 million which had plunged the city into the ongoing power crisis. Instead the new management was taking loans from local banks.
The prime minister, according to official sources, was of the view that power demand was increasing by 9-10 per cent per annum and the government was taking short, medium and long term steps to bridge the gap between demand and supply to maintain the growth momentum and save people from inconvenience due to power breakdowns.
Mr Aziz said that the government was focusing on increasing hydel and nuclear capacity in the power sector, encouraging private sector producers, renovation of existing capacity and import of electricity to keep a balance between the demand and supply. He stressed the need for creating awareness about energy conservation and campaigns through mass media to avoid wastage of power.
The meeting also discussed the national energy conservation plan, unfolded by Federal Minister for Water and Power Liaquat Jatoi, which would be forwarded to the provincial governments for soliciting their input in its implementation.
KESC chief Lt-Gen (retd) Mohammad Amjad gave a presentation to the prime minister on the utility’s efforts in maintaining a balance between demand and supply.
The meeting was attended among others by Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad, Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Mohammad Ali Durrani, Minister for Water and Power Liaquat Jatoi, Minister for Ports and Shipping Babur Ghauri, Wapda, KESC and other government officials.
