KARACHI, July 2: Takeover of the Karachi Electric Supply Company’s management by a Dubai-based firm, Abraj, has been delayed by a few days to complete certain formalities.

This was disclosed by Federal Minister for Water and Power Raja Pervez Ashraf while talking to newsmen after the federal cabinet’s meeting at the Governor’s House on Wednesday.

He noted that the power supply situation would not have been so bad if the privatized management of the KESC had fulfilled its obligations of investing in 400 megawatts additional generation capacities. But he promised that the situation would ease a little in the coming months as additional generation would be available through rental units and the independent power producers (IPPs).

Mr Ashraf said the government was working out ways to provide relief to the consumers who did not cross the 200-unit limit. He pointed out that it was decided by the Economic Coordination Committee that IPPs and GENCOs of Wapda would get uninterrupted fuel supply round the year. This would help them generate uninterrupted electricity round the clock, he added.

The minister said the government was aware of the menace of unscheduled load-shedding being carried out in Karachi. However, he said it was not yet clear why the company resorted to prolonged load-shedding when Pepco was supplying 500MW to the KESC and the government already accepted the demands of the KESC’s management.

About the alternative energy sources, the minister said that a roundtable international conference on Thar coal would be held in the USA next month. He said the world’s top investors and experts in coal development and power generation had been invited to attend this conference.

“Thar coal could generate plenty of electricity at lesser cost,” the minister said, adding that the government initially planned to generate at least 6,000 megawatts from the Thar power project within the next one year. He said that planning had been completed in this regard. “The conference would help attract foreign investment and latest technology in coal-based power generation,” he observed.

Announcing that there would be no load-shedding in the country from 2009, he said people would start feeling improvement in power supply from August this year.