HYDERABAD: Two back-to-back tragedies in the city that claimed the lives of several persons so far indicate that the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) has not learnt any lesson.

More patients of Thursday’s transformer blast in Akbari mosque locality, who are in critical state, are battling for their life.

Hesco’s performance has been disastrous this summer once again. It was despite promises by then energy minster Omar Ayub last year and Asad Umar’s assurances that “marked change would be witnessed in power utility’s performance”. The two ministers had explained that system needed investment.

Hesco covers a large region administratively. It now has a new boss, Rehan Hameed, who is appointed amidst much-talked-about competitive process. But power consumers have yet to see results of his policies.

Despite the administrative change at the top, people’s hue and cry against prolonged outages, issuance of detection bills, installation or removal of poorly maintained/repaired transformers and delay in repairs continues unabated. Last Thursday’s tragedy is apparently the result of poorly-repaired or defective transformer. An inquiry is, however, pending.

Although the incumbent chief executive officer is visiting different areas, some qualitative change is yet to be seen. Electricity shutdowns besides unannounced load-management plans have become order of the day. While monsoon season is on, Hyderabad has not witnessed heavy rains yet luckily. One shudders to think what would happen if rains lead to urban flooding.

That Hesco — headquartered in Hyderabad — has a fragile network is no secret. Only a single day’s rainfall on July 12 had caused a massive power breakdown. Transmission lines remain weak or are worn out which cause frequent disruption and voltage fluctuations, damaging electricity appliances.

Grim new trend

For the last couple of years, a new trend is witnessed — falling of pole mounted transformers (PMTs) — in various localities. As if this was not enough since June 18, blasts in transformers have claimed several lives so far. Three children were killed in June 18 blast in Islamabad Mohalla and eight people died from burn wounds in the July 22 blast at the Akbari Masjid area in Latifabad. It was perhaps due to substandard quality of transformers.

It is talk of the town that Hesco has outdone police in terms of performance and indiscipline. Being a federal entity, Hesco is considered an arrogant government agency whose officials/officers — lower or higher sale — are answerable to none. And it has been experienced in previous rainfalls where the past Hesco chief did not properly respond even to the chief executive of this province, what to talk of divisional commissioner or deputy commissioner, ministers or parliamentarians.

Hesco’s line losses are around 26pc when compared to 29pc of Sukkur Electric Supply Company that deals with upper Sindh region. The utility attributes losses to power theft and overloading in system.

The much-needed upgrade eludes this organization, thus leaving consumers high and dry across the Hesco region. The CEO avoids taking calls and does not respond to messages.

Transformers are being privately repaired and quality of their repairs is compromised thus. It is again an open secret that Hesco’s staff at sub-divisional level hires services of private electricians due to dearth of staff.

To quote veteran Hydro union leader Abdu Latif Nizamani, “Hesco lacks system to repair transformers and it doesn’t have newer ones. It faces shortage of staff. Old transformers are being used which are locally repaired”.

The Hesco management is always quick to blame consumers for tragedies like the recent ones with the excuse that the “kunda mafia” has made matters worse for it. Except for its receivables from public sector or private consumers, the management never shared details of investment it has made or is in process of making to beef up the network.

“Problem lies in overloading of the system and kunda mafia that frustrates our efforts to ensure smooth power supply”, says its spokesman Sadiq Kubar. “I won’t blame Hesco staff entirely for illegal practice of power pilferage”, he adds. He says the CEO has issued transformers — either replacement or new ones — for different areas of the city, Latifabad and Qasimabad. This might be true. But it is not understandable why incidents of blasts in localities and spilling of burning oil from them have become a routine.

The spokesman blames private electricians, who were used by consumers for rectifying fault in lines and transformers. “Such practice affects the system which gets damaged or develops fault”, he says and claims that the CEO is introducing reforms in Hesco and consumers would witness qualitative change.

Consumers accuse Hesco staff of either removing transformers intentionally or charging money from consumers for rectification of faults. It takes at least three to four days but transformers are not replaced by the Hesco staff. Problem of burnt transformers is in addition to issuance of detection bills. Once such detection is slapped on bona fide consumers — although there is a policy for issuance of such bills which is never followed — he remains at the mercy of staff to get it corrected.

“We don’t see any qualitative change in Hesco’s performance even after meetings with planning minister Asad Umar, then energy minister Omer Ayub and incumbent CEO Rehan Hameed,” says Rashid Khilji, a Sindh Assembly member belonging to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).

Khilji, whose party is a coalition partner of the ruling PTI, has been part of meetings held with Asad Umar and Omer Ayub Khan in Hyderabad. “It looks as if the city is heading towards anarchy. If kunda mafia is to be blamed then why machinery is provided for shifting transformer to the mechanic and it is readily replaced once people of the area pay money to Hesco staff”, he asked.

Published in Dawn, July 28th , 2021