Kamal calls for more power supply companies

Says citizens who needlessly pay for line losses, do not get uninterrupted supply

KARACHI:

Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) senior leader Syed Mustafa Kamal has said that the wound of the energy sector in the economy of Pakistan is now becoming a canker. The annual revolving credit of the energy sector is more than the development budget of the entire country. This is a problem that the country's government and the people are suffering from and the economy cannot be fixed without finding a permanent solution to the problem. Kamal expressed these views while addressing a crowded press conference at Pakistan House. He was accompanied by assembly members and party's senior leader Anees Qaimkhani.

He maintained that now the situation has gone far beyond politics and rhetoric, urgent and tough decisions are taken only in emergency situations and now that time has come for Pakistan.

Kamal said that MQM-Pakistan is pointing out the problems and presenting their solutions. There are more than one electricity provider options available to citizens around the world. People can get power connections from the company they think the best, while in Pakistan, each city has just one electricity supplier company who has established a monopoly making the life of citizens miserable. People who pay their bills regularly are also paying the line losses which the company faces due to power thieves.

There is load shedding of up to 18 hours in most parts of Karachi. Those who needlessly pay heavy bills also do not get uninterrupted power supply.

Kamal said that the only solution to get Pakistan and the people out of this problem is that licences should be issued to more than one power supply companies across the country on the pattern of telecoms so that both quality and price are appropriate and no company can establish its monopoly.