LAHORE, Nov 2: None of the 14 key companies in the power sector has a permanent head and they are being run by ad hoc employees or bureaucrats on an “acting, additional or ‘look after charge’ basis”.The list is headed by the federal secretary for water and power. The incumbent, Nargis Sethi, is cabinet secretary and holds an “additional charge” of the power and water sector.
She is the sixth federal secretary during the present government, following Ismail Qureshi, Shahid Rafi, Javed Iqbal, Imtiaz Qazi and Zafar Mehmood over the past 50 months.
Next in line falls the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC), which is the biggest company in the power sector to transmit electric power to the entire country. It is headed by a deputy secretary, Musadaq Ahmed Khan, on “look after” basis. He was already holding the charge of joint secretary in the ministry of water and power on an acting charge basis.
Similarly, managing director (MD) of the Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco), who is a joint secretary in the power ministry, is holding the post on “look after” basis. The company was dissolved last year and he is supposed to wind it up.
The Central Power Purchase Agency (CPPA), which purchases power from all sources and provides it to NTDC for onward transmission, is being “looked after” by a bureaucrat from the audit and accounts group. Hamaytullah Khan is also a special secretary in the ministry of water and power.
The Genco Holding Company, which runs all power plants belonging to the government, is headed by Naveed Ismail, who has not been formally appointed and is running from pillar to post for finalisation of his contract.
Different government ministries have raised objections to his Rs1.9 million a month contract on account of being too exorbitant and the board of directors has also been questioning his performance and contract.
Ghiasuddin, chairman National Electric Power and Regulatory Authority (Nepra), is also holing the post on “acting charge” basis and so does the managing director of Private Power Infrastructure Board (PPIB) N. A. Zubairi – working on acting charge basis. Same is the case with Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) chief Arif Allaudin, whose contract expired last year, but he continues to hold the charge.
As if all this were not enough, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco), who is eighth on the seniority list, is holding the post on “look after” basis.His appointment was set aside by the Lahore High Court on Thursday for being illegal.
The CEO of Multan Electric Supply Company (Mepco), Shakeel Chaudhry, is also “looking after” the post and so does Shankar Lal of the Sukkur Electric Supply Company (Sepco).
Baleeghuzzaman of Quetta Electric Supply Company (Qesco) is also holding the charge on the same basis and so does Mehboob Alam of Gujranwala Electric Supply Company (Gepco).
The ministry has appointed Shakeel Durrani, a former chairman of Wapda, as adviser on Diamer Bhasha Dam, the biggest water and power sector project, although he has no experience of working on mega dam projects.