KARACHI, Nov 15: In its bid to bring down the transmission and distribution losses to the international benchmark, the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation has decided to engage a private firm to carry out a citywide survey.

Official sources told Dawn on Friday that if the power utility succeeded in reducing the transmission and distribution losses — comprising both technical losses and losses due to power theft — from the existing 40 per cent to around 17 per cent, the KESC would be able to prevent Rs11.5 billion from being wasted every year.

They added that the private firm, which would finish work within three months of the signing of the contract, would be tasked to build up a database on the exact number of consumers, at present estimated to be 1.7 million, which would also include those who indulged in power pilferage.

“The surveyors will be entrusted with the task of finding the exact magnitude of transmission and distribution losses and also pinpoint locations of abnormality so that power leakages could be plugged in time.”

The sources said the private concern would be required to read energy meters of generating stations, export/import terminal of the KESC connected with the independent power producers, the Water and Power Development Authority, grid station EHT and LT side and auto-power transformers.

“The surveyors will number and register all pole-mounted transformers, substations, power transformers and feeders served by them.”

The sources explained the transmission and distribution losses mapping exercise would be followed by development work for which the federal government would initially give Rs1 billion. “In the first phase, the government plans to spend Rs1 billion on the overhauling of the entire distribution and transmission network of the power utility.”

SCADA AND EMS SYSTEM: The KESC is also moving to put in place Supervisory and Data Acquisition (Scada) system accompanied by Energy Management System (EMS) with remote terminal units.