PAC subcommittee wants upgrade of grid stations

Committee says it will address issues faced by consumers

ISLAMABAD: The subcommittee of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Wednesday asked the Ministry of Water and Power to devise a strategy for the upgrade of grid stations across the country.

The committee, which met at the Parliament House, was chaired by Convener of the Subcommittee-III MNA Sardar Ashiq Hussain Gopang. Member of the committee MNA Shahida Akhtar Ali was also present on the occasion.

The officials of the Ministry of Water and Power briefed the committee about the affairs of the distribution companies along with issues being faced by the consumers.

The committee said that with the upgrade of line and grid stations a number of issues would be automatically reduced. The committee recommended that extra transformers should be provided at division level for emergency situation, adding that trolley transformers should be doubled at division level to resolve the problems faced by consumers in case of any faults in transformers.

The committee, in its observation, said that transfers and posting is one of the main causes of problems being faced by the department. The committee recommended that locals should not be posted in their own sub division or areas.

The committee also recommended that duties should be abolished on solar materials being used by individuals, adding that the ministry should devise a mechanism to count the power being received from solar across the country. It recommended more linemen be inducted to facilitate the consumers.

Ministry of Water and Power officials informed the committee that mobile metering reading system was introduced in 2014. They said that all DISCOs have started billing by readings through mobile phone showing the image with data of meter reading on every energy bill. Resultantly, the issues of overbilling in DISCOs have been eliminated and the consumers are more satisfied regarding correctness of reading.

They further said that till 2018 load-shedding will completely end due to government initiatives/policies.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 24^th, 2016.

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