K-Electric receiving 1,100 megawatts from grid

Company CEO tells Senate body it is producing 1,700MW from its own plants

ISLAMABAD:

The Senate Standing Committee on Power on Wednesday discussed the implementation status of all pending recommendations, illegal power connections in jurisdictions of distribution companies and K-Electric and the circular debt.

The committee, which met with Saifullah Abro in the chair, was apprised that currently around 1,100 megawatts of electricity was being provided to K-Electric from the national grid at the basket price.

Briefing the committee, Power Division Additional Secretary Waseem Mukhtar said that the agreement relating to provision of 650MW to K-Electric from the national grid had expired in 2015.

“However, around 1,100MW is being supplied to K-Electric at present from the national grid at the basket price,” he added.

K-Electric CEO Moonis Alvi told the committee that the company’s total electricity demand was estimated at 3,600MW and it was generating 1,700MW through its own generation plants.

Around 900MW would be added to K-Electric’s system next year, he added.

Regarding federal government’s Rs292 billion worth of receivables against K-Electric, the CEO claimed that the company had principal amount of Rs300 billion against the federation under various heads.

“Out of the total, Rs28 billion is outstanding against the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board,” he added.

“KWSB was declared a strategic consumer in the Implementation Agreement and power supply to it was suspended in 2011, however, on the directives of Sindh High Court, it was restored.”

The additional secretary said that Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) was being made a technical arm of the ministry and it was being shifted to Islamabad.

Mukhtar said that permanent CEOs of distribution companies were being gradually appointed on a competitive basis.

The committee recommended that priority should be given to locals in boards of directors and a person should be member of only one board.

Committee Chairman Saifullah Abro observed that 42 officials of distribution companies were members of the board of directors of various companies.

Regarding the illegal electricity connections, the committee recommended that Aerial Bundle Cables (ABC) should be used to eliminate them.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 16^th, 2021.

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