KESC power supply policy: Industrial captive power units may be disconnected

Utility issues notice to captive gas-powered industrial units.

KARACHI: The Karachi Electric Supply Company has stated, that after much deliberation it has formulated a new power supply policy for its ‘captive power’ consumers. All industrial units that are generating their own power through gas and do not require KESC for their power needs and have merely kept their connections as a back-up, are to be disconnected.

According to a KESC statement this decision has been taken keeping in view the optimal rationalisation of power distribution and electricity supply will be prioritised for those customers who are need of it. In the city of Karachi there are about 600 private industrial units that are fullfilling their power needs through gas based self-generation (captive powers). According to KESC these, self power generating, private industrial units are being provided natural gas on a priority level higher than KESC, in violation of the Natural Gas Policy 2005. The statement goes on to say that cummalatively these private commercial entities are being supplied gas, more than the quantum of what is being supplied to KESC.

In phase one of the new policy, KESC has served notices to 250 such industrial consumers, who have sanctioned their load from the utility but are utilising less than 25% of that load. KESC says that this un-utilised load can be better used to provide new connections or load enhancements to those applicants desirous of availing KESC’s services but have had to queue up due to non-availability of the same load. However, at the same the statement says that KESC is well in position and willing to provide ‘uninterrupted power supply’ to all those ‘captive power industrial units’ which decide to switch back to KESC for their power needs, rather than use gas to produce their own power.

The statement also says that if the same amount of gas that is being provided to these 600 private captive powers, is diverted to KESC, not only will it result in enhanced power generation, but will also lead to a reduction in the power tariff.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 7^th, 2012.