LAHORE, May 3: The Electric Power Forum has asked the government to learn a lesson from the experiment of failure of privatization of the Karachi Electric Supply Company (Kesc) and desist from selling out Wapda units.

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, forum vice-chairman and former Wapda Member (Power) S.T.H Naqvi, former Wapda General Manager Ritz Big, and labour leader Khurshid Ahmad at the Bakhtiar Labour House said here on Wednesday that it was just

beginning of summers but the people of Karachi were facing power breakdowns almost daily these days due to privatization of the Kesc. They said that the new owners instead of renovating the Karachi power supply network and upgrading the system were busy making heavy profits at the cost of public convenience. They said that almost half of Karachi had been affected by power failures which had adversely affected thousands of industries besides causing tremendous problems of water and power shortages in this hot weather.

They said that instead of learning an experience the government was going ahead with its plans of privatizing Wapda, precious and profit earning power units of the Faisalabad Electric Power Supply Company and Jamshoro thermal power house. They appealed to President Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to give up the plans for selling away Wapda units and save the nation from the impending disastrous effects of privatization. They suggested that instead of selling power units, the government should concentrate on developing hydroelectric power in the country.

Mr Naqvi said that mismanagement of Kesc had been the main cause of its loss of Rs80 billion during the past 10 years while the same company had been giving profit for 83 years. The government had decided to sell away 75 per cent of the company shares at Rs1.35 per share against its market price of Rs9 per share at the time of its privatization. The present price was Rs11. He wondered why the government had sold away the company at such a throw-away rate of Rs1.35 per share. —Reporter