LAHORE: Almost all key posts in the Pakistan Electric Power Company, which is incurring an annual loss of over Rs200 billion, are being occupied by people who have secured up to six extensions of one year after their retirement from government service.

Rasul Khan Mahsud, who retired in August last year as chief executive officer of the National Transmission and Dispatch Company, is holding the additional charge of managing director of Pepco after getting a two-year extension.

A Pepco official said Mr Mahsud had been given the additional charge of the company as if managing the power sector was a “causal assignment for leisure hours”.

Two Grade-21 serving officers — general manager (services) Shaan Hussain Zaidi and general manager monitoring and surveillance Majid Malik — are working under Mr Mahsud who retired as a Grade-20 officer.

Munawer A. Malik, general manager (north) looks after the Grid System Construction which has been allocated a budget of around Rs64 billion (or $750 million). He retired on May 24 last year.

Habib Anwarul Haq, who retired on June 30 last year, is working as general manager (south).

Rana Mohammad Amjad, general manager, Wapda Power Privatisation Organisation, which deals with the independent power producers, is enjoying a third extension after his retirement in 2007.

Masood Akhter, who has been getting extension for three years, is working as general manager of the National Power Control Centre, which controls power supply to the entire country and decides about loadshedding.

Razi Abbas, who retired as additional secretary of the ministry of finance a year ago, has been hired as the chief financial officer of Pepco.

Guftar Anjum, chief executive officer of the Multan Electric Supply Company, was told to continue “working on the same post till further orders” after his retirement in January 2009.

Shafiq Khattak, chief executive officer of the Quetta Electric Supply Company, who retired two years ago, is on extension “till further orders”.

Defending the appointment of retired officers on key posts, Pepco chief Rasul Khan Mahsud told Dawn that better people had to be retained to reform the power sector on the pattern of corporate sector.