While briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on Energy, KE Chief Executive Officer Moonis Alvi said that majority of the incidents occurred inside homes because of the faulty wiring or unsafe use of electrical equipment.
Alvi said that non-KE infrastructure such as kundas (illegal connection) and Tv/internet cables encroached on power installations and hanging lights were beyond the control of KE.
He remarked that a total of 33 deaths were reported in Karachi of which, 11 people died inside their houses due to wiring faults whereas 18 incidents occurred due to kunda or Tv cable network.
Alvi claimed that the sewerage system in Karachi was also one factors for the loss of lives.
He said that National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) was conducting an inquiry, while KE was also carrying out an internal probe.
The CEO further said that KE had removed thousands of kundas and illegal wirings besides issuing warnings through mass awareness campaigns and public/legal notices.
“However, reemergence of such wires and kundas remains a critical challenge and can only be resolved with the support of all stakeholders,” he said.
He also ruled out that KE was not complying with the standards of Nepra.
Alvi appealed to all the concerned stakeholders to come forward to eliminate the issues of encroachments, kundas, unwarranted use of KE infrastructure and waterlogging around pylons during and after rain.
He maintained that as per Nepra’s last State of Industry Report issued for 2018, KE had the third lowest number of incidents.
‘Due to measures taken by KE, the losses have reduced from 33 per cent to 17 per cent,” he remarked.
Speaking about the blackout in the metropolis, Alvi noted that KE system was also reliant on national grid and that stoppage of electricity supply from national grid caused tripping in the system, which resulted in power outage in Karachi.
Chief Distribution Officer Amir Zia said that KE had 30,000km network, which had 100,000 kilometers grid of cable operators.
He said that they had written to Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) to take notice of the issue.
“We disconnect the cable network and in response they cut our network,” he said.
The committee was also informed that KE had added 1000megawatts in the system during the last few years.
However, PPP’s Shazia Marri got annoyed over holding the Sindh government responsible for poor water sewerage system in Karachi.
But Federal Minister for Energy Omar Ayub backed K-Electric’s view and observed that Sindh government should ensure effective measures for drainage of rainwater in Karachi.
The parliamentary body directed KE to appear before the committee to brief it regarding the unfortunate accidents which occurred in Karachi during the recent rains and investment made during the past.
Earlier, lawmakers from PML-N and JUI-F staged a walkout from the meeting to protest against the halt of work on gas schemes.
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