PTI sets up camp against KE

Calls for ending its monopoly, justifies power tariff hike

KARACHI:

With no end in sight for the city's load-shedding ordeal, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) Sindh leadership set up a protest camp outside K-Electric's (KE's) office in Karachi on Sunday, denouncing the power utility for unannounced power cuts and overbilling. Despite this, though party leaders justified the recent hike in power tariffs.

Addressing a press conference, PTI members, including MNAs and MPAs, announced that they would hold a demonstration at the spot every day and would go as far as taking legal action against KE.

They also urged the federal government, led by the PTI, to take measures for ending KE's monopoly before 2023, when its agreement is scheduled to expire.

"Load-shedding has plagued Karachi for the past 11 years and all this while, KE has earned huge profits of up to Rs100 billion but invested little in improving the electricity supply and increasing production capacity," lashed out Sindh Assembly opposition leader Firdous Shamim Naqvi. "Citizens are now fed up of load-shedding and overbilling, especially during the [coronavirus] pandemic and extremely hot weather."

He further berated the power utility for "failing to provide a justification for load-shedding" this summer.

"The KE administration first gave the excuse of shortage of furnace oil, which was [duly] addressed by petroleum suppliers and the Ministry of Power. It then ascribed excessive electricity suspension to gas shortage and that too was addressed by the government," he said, adding that it failed to keep its word to end load-shedding within 24 hours after a meeting with Sindh Governor Imran Ismail on Friday.

Naqvi insisted that the Centre take steps to establish a new utility company to supply power to Karachi before 2023, when KE's agreement is scheduled to end, and dissolve it into three separate entities.

He went on to warn that the PTI Karachi leadership would not let the power utility hide behind court stay orders on National Electric Power Regulatory Authority's decision and would approach the apex court on the matter. "We will move the Supreme Court to nullify the subordinate court's decision and restrict subordinate courts from issuing stays on NEPRA's rulings."

A 'fair' hike

However, Naqvi termed the recent KE tariff hike, approved by the Centre, as a "fair" one, maintaining that while the increase was implemented in the rest of the country six months ago, it was only recently imposed on KE consumers. "We now demand that the rate of electricity in Karachi be adjusted so it is the same as in the rest of the country."

MNA Aftab Siddiqui, meanwhile, accused KE of "irregularities" and criticised it for sending out average bills based on previous electricity consumption.

He called for making KE's agreement with the government public, sought its financial records of the past 10 years and called for an audit of its metres by a third party.

'A joke of a protest'

On the other hand, the Pakistan Peoples Party-led Sindh government, which had been critical the raised tariff, censured the PTI leadership in Karachi over "a joke of a protest."

Calling the PTI and KE "partners in crime," Sindh Energy Minister Imtiaz Shaikh questioned why Prime Minister Imran Khan was not ordering any action against the power utility for its failure to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply to Karachi.

He lambasted the ruling party for its treatment of Karachi despite having a vote bank in the city and accused it of being behind the load-shedding and overbilling in the city.

"They [PTI leaders] are not protesting because they feel for Karachi, but to further loot it," he claimed, going as far as to call the protest "the biggest joke of the year."

He further accused the PTI of plaguing the entire province with load-shedding via the Hyderabad Electricity Supply Company and the Sukkur Electricity Supply Company.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 6^th, 2020.