A tussle under way in the power bureaucracy perfectly illustrates the myriad dysfunctions that afflict our power sector.

A number of officers at Fesco, the power utility serving the industrial city of Faisalabad, have challenged their transfer orders before the Lahore High Court, arguing that these were issued on political grounds after the utility conducted a raid on the factory premises of an MPA from the ruling party.

The managing director of the utility has referred some of these transfer orders back to his counterpart at Pepco, from where they originally came.

In their court petition, the officers argue that they are being targeted on political grounds, and the Pepco managing director does not have the authority to order anybody’s transfer since that power has been handed to the independent Board of Directors under which the utility has been operating for a number of years now.

What sounds like a simple case of government functionaries challenging their transfer orders is actually illustrative of the weaknesses that mire the power sector. First of all, the raid is an example of the difficulties involved in raising recoveries, which is an essential part of the strategy to reduce the circular debt.

The consequences visited upon the functionaries are a typical example of political interference, if they do indeed relate to the raid.

The Fesco managing director’s refusal to entertain the transfer orders is a good example of the governance failures within the power bureaucracy, where arbitrary decisions are made, and challenged on a daily basis.

Has the MD done a fair job of taking his instructions from the BoD, whose authority is being invoked to refuse the transfer orders? The resort to judicial authority is also typical, not only in the case of power sector governance, but billing matters too frequently land up in court if pushed too hard.

The confusion created by this state of affairs is very typical of the confusion that has gripped the power sector for almost a quarter of a century now, ever since a mix of private- and public-sector interests began operating within it.

And it is precisely this sort of confusion that has hampered the ability of the power bureaucracy to adapt to the changing challenges of its time, or to accept the kinds of reforms it needs urgently. It’s time to reform this system and remove these governance weaknesses if the power crisis is ever to be resolved.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2015

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