Senate body directs energy ministry to follow quotas

Power distribution companies have 53,000 vacant posts

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Power directed on Tuesday the Ministry of Energy (Power Division) to strictly follow provincial quotas and qualification criteria for recruitment in all power distribution companies.

After complaints by lawmakers against distribution companies for not following provincial quotas in recruitments, the committee met under the chairmanship of Senator Fida Muhammad and directed the energy ministry that prescribed quotas should be followed for all types of jobs in the distribution companies.

Briefing the committee, Power Division Secretary Irfan Ali said there were 53,000 vacant posts in the distribution companies. However, he said corruption and malpractices in the energy sector must also be eliminated.



These companies were also required to improve their efficiency and reporting system.

The committee was given a detailed briefing on repair and maintenance of transformers of the distribution companies at government workshops and with the help of private sector. The committee sought details as to why the private sector was approached despite the presence of transformer reclamation workshops of the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda).

It was told that Wapda workshops sometimes could not accommodate the huge number of damaged transformers, especially in summer, and the private sector was approached only when the number exceeded the capacity of Wapda units.

Ali assured committee members that all public procurement rules were followed while engaging private companies and transparency was ensured through inspection and third-party monitoring.



The committee discussed the selection criteria, scope of responsibilities and effectiveness of distribution companies.

The committee was also updated on the progress on Pehur hydroelectric power project and Malakand-III hydroelectric power project.

Speaking on the occasion, K-Electric CEO said tripping of transmission lines had come down by 63% and out of a total of 1,760 feeders, 1,260 were free from load-shedding.

In two years, of the 25,000 transformers, 5,000 have been equipped with aerial bundle cables (ABC).