KARACHI, March 26: The standing committee of senate on water and power describing the privatization of KESC as a positive step has said that prescribed guarantees for job security and consumer protection must be ensured. The committee met under the chairmanship of Senator Hafiz Abdul Malik Qadri at KESC head office on Saturday. Besides committee members, the meeting was also attended by KESC Managing Director Brig Tariq Saddozai and other senior officers. Officials from the privatization commission, the private power infrastructure board and representatives of KESC employees were also invited to discuss the impact of privatization, protection of rights and jobs of employees, settlement of consumer disputes and solution of load shedding.

Committee members were of the view that job protection should be part of the written agreement between the new owners and the government. They unanimously resolved that employees should have job security until the age of retirement, trade union activities may be restored and contract employees be regularized.

Regarding settlement of disputed billing, Brig Tariq Saddozai informed the meeting that a neutral review committee comprising representatives of trade and industry, electric inspectorate and the consumers concerned was already in place. They had been resolving such disputes to the satisfaction of aggrieved consumer, he added.

The standing committee members suggested that elected representatives from 18 towns may also be co-opted as members of the billing dispute review committee.

About load shedding, the committee was informed that KESC system was old and overloaded. Therefore, maximum power consumption at peak hours resulted in tripping of transformers, power supply feeders and PMTs, he said. It was stated that renovation of the entire power supply network of the city required huge funding which the new owners of KESC had agreed to invest. As soon as power generation, transmission and distribution system was upgraded, power supply to consumers would become stable and uninterrupted.

The meeting concluded on the note that job securities of the employees and protection to the consumers by the new owners would make the privatization of KESC a positive and progressive step of the government towards building up power infrastructure for economic development and welfare of people. —APP