Apart from the ever-widening gap between demand and supply of power, Wapda is marred with maladministration, poor maintenance and dilapidated transmission network. Its one per cent line losses costs Rs1 billion to the national exchequer.
Globally, the standard transmission and distribution losses are less than 10 per cent of the total production. In case of Pakistan, it is 35 and even 42 per cent in some areas. On the whole, the deficit in administrative efficiency causes Wapda losses to the tune of Rs35-40 billion per annum. These losses are shifted to the national exchequer. (See graph-1)
Line losses are defined a wastage of electricity during distribution to the tail-end consumers. Operators/managers of transmission and distribution system claim that the wastage primarily occurs when transmission cables develop technical faults during the distribution. Theft/ illegal consumption of electricity also adds to revenue losses.
Furthermore, switching of lines through feeders and transformers result in losses of electricity; if managed poorly, says Wapda. But the plea is proved wrong when we evaluate the overall line losses. There are sharp differences in the line losses of Punjab, Sindh, NWFP and Balochistan. For example, line losses in the Punjab are much less than that of Sindh. Similarly, losses in NWFP in 2000 were less than that of Balochistan while the same rose from 13.2 in 2006-2007 to 35.3 per cent in 2008. (See table)
If the transmission and distribution system was the main cause of line losses, such losses in NWFP would have not gone up from 13.2 in 2006-07 to 35.3 per cent in 2008-09.
The table shows that objective conditions and organisational mechanism plays a vital role. Additionally, application of flawless technology can reduce line losses. Several hi-tech distribution channels are in the market to minimise these losses. In our case, the full or even partial replacement of the present transmission system is not possible because of high costs and paucity of funds.
In a nutshell, even if, defective transmission and delivery system in Wapda is considered a factor in line losses, it is not the Table
only cause. Transmission and distribution (T&D) is just a small portion of line losses. The larger chunk of these line losses occur owing to wide-ranging pilferage through unregistered meters and theft of electricity from the main transmission lines.
As energy cost for industrial units is high, the managers of industrial units maintain a liaison with Wapda officials responsible for supply of electricity. A meter reader whose salary is just a few thousands prepares electricity bills in millions every month. Moreover, there is a very weak system of counter-check and meters installed in premises of factories are tampered..
Defective meters are not replaced so that the benefit of doubt would go to the user. In graph-2, the number of defective meters show zero reading being charged at unified rates.
Multan, Hyderabad and Faisalabad Electricity Supply companies have the highest number of meters showing zero readings. All the three cities are the major industrial hubs in which industrial players flourish at the expense of public money. On the other hand, Karachi Electricity Supply Company has shown over the past several years highest line losses peaking at 41.11per cent in 2001-02.
However, KESC worked hard to reduce their line loses to 34.12 per cent in 2005-06 which, however, went up to 35.85 in 2008-09. Similarly, MEPCO faces losses of 41.98 million units owing to theft and the so-called technical faults. However it claims improvement in addressing the issue.
According to MEPCO sources, the company faced losses of 41,980,000 units during September 2009 in seven divisions of Multan circle as compared to last year's 43,890,000 units in the corresponding period of the previous year. They argue that due to effective measures, the losses have been reduced by 1,910,000 units, though such a meagre improvement had a little impact on reduction in line losses. The company-wise details of line losses mentioned in the table negate the claim.
While the parliamentarians keep on raising their voice against high rise in the line-losses, the government keeps offering funds to finance their deficits. The government also assured that lengthy feeders will be bifurcated, LT and HT feeders, where necessary, will be re-conductored. HT/LT capacitors, new transformers, flawless electric meters and sophisticated monitoring system would be installed. Industrial and high consumption energy meters will be regularly monitored, evaluating the rise and fall in consumption.
Although the government plans for reducing line losses, all its measures need more time and money. As far as eradication of malpractices and malfunctioning are concerned, the political will seems to be missing. As a huge amount of Rs35 to 40 billion losses to the national exchequer is involved, the reduction in line losses should be the part of the national agenda and the concerned parliamentary committees. The ever-increasing line losses are having cyclical impact on our industrial, agricultural production and GDP.
