KESC increases power tariff by 96 paisas

NEPRA allows increase in power tariff. Second rental power ship arrives from Turkey.

KARACHI: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) on Tuesday allowed the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) to increase the power tariff by 96 paisas per unit.

The decision was taken by officials at a NEPRA meeting in Islamabad. The KESC had originally requested for an increase of one rupee per unit.

NEPRA member, Maqbool Khawaja critisised the KESC for using diesel instead of furnace oil and said that NEPRA would issue a show-cause notice to the power supplier if it failed to follow instructions.

The KESC spokesperson said that the company was using diesel as producing electricity from furnace oil from costly.

Second rental power ship arrives

A second rental power ship, with the capacity of producing 100 megawatts, arrived from Turkey and docked at Port Qasim in Karachi.

The first Turkish rental power ship, the Kaya Bey, has the capacity of producing 232 megawatts per day and had arrived in Karachi on November 18, 2010. The ship is yet to generate any power.

Along with the Kaya Bey, both power ships can provide a total of 300 megawatts to the national grid.

The Turkish government has offered to provide free electricity to Pakistan if the country is willing to provide fuel for power generation.

Sources claim the government is considering the proposal.