KARACHI, July 12: Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad has directed the special committee of Wapda experts, tasked with finding ways and means to drag the KESC out of its technical and financial crises, to continue monitoring the utility’s technical and other operations, as well as its ongoing projects.
The committee was constituted under a directive of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz after a massive breakdown a few weeks back rendered most parts of Karachi without power.
The committee called on the governor on Thursday and stressed the need for formulating a “harmonised human re source policy” which must inculcate a sense of ownership among workers and bridge the gap between the KESC employees and the operation and maintenance departments. It also stressed the need for more investment in power generation and other technical departments by the KESC owners.
The governor directed the experts to have a bi-monthly review of the corporation’s technical and financial matters.
The experts said that the KESC staff should be imparted proper training, adding that appointment of more experts was also needed.
Referring to technical matters, the experts believed that the future planning was complete but attention must be paid on the timely completion of all relevant projects.
The experts found that the investment made so far by the KESC’s new owners appeared negligible. They said the voltage fluctuation problem could be controlled through the earthing project.
They noted that about 150MW captive power was available and full stress should be laid on its use. Accelerated efforts to obtain rental power generation plant should be made to help the KESC meet the shortfall to some extent, they added.
They told the governor that repair and rehabilitation of the existing plants could add up to 70MW electricity to the utility’s power generation capacity.
The team also explained the KESC’s financial matters, and said: “The billing does not reflect the quantum of electricity being consumed. They cited the example of the DHA area where one household showed consumption an average of 108 units per month.
Dr Ibad appreciated the committee’s efforts and directed the authorities concerned to maintain contact with the KESC in the light of the experts’ report in order to bring about an improvement in the situation.
Before preparing the report, the committee members conducted a survey of the city over a week during which they interviewed different stakeholders of the utility, including its CEO and the new contractors belonging to the Siemens, as well as representatives of engineers, officers and workers.