Punjab and Sindh governments are going at each other to decide the fate of 650MW power being supplied to Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) from the NTDC, with Punjab asking for its diversion to decrease its power deficit.
“If 650MW is distributed evenly among the country, power outage will reduce by 20 minutes while Karachi will suffer eight hours outage daily,” said Sindh Chief Secretary Raja Abbas in a presentation to the meeting on Equitable Distribution of Load-shedding chaired by Secretary Water and Power Zafar Mehmood on August 16.
Sindh Chief Secretary said that KESC, a private company, has a legal agreement with National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) that guarantees 650MW supply till 2015, according to documents available with The Express Tribune. The 650MW received from NTDC is only 4% to 5% of the national grid.
“If the entire 650MW power being supplied by NTDC is taken from KESC and put into the national grid, it will add to the misery of Karachi,” Abbas said.
Furthermore, if the power is diverted from KESC, the company would need extra gas from SSGC to fully utilise its gas-based available generation capacity. The other option will be for KESC to buy additional furnace oil, an expensive alternative to gas, and adjust the price by increasing power tariff, Abbas said.
He said that KESC owed Rs39 billion to NTDC while it had to receive Rs50 billion dues from the federal government. Furthermore, KESC paid Rs142 billion to NTDC under Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) over the last three years.
Wapda has a surplus of 3,000MW which can be generated through overhauling and reorganisation of power plants, according to Energy Book 2011.
“It may be wiser for the government to look at immediate rehauling and enhancing power rather than adding grief to the citizens of Karachi by curtailing KESC’s allocated amount,” he added.
Punjab was getting 7,716MW power daily, Sindh including KESC 1,885MW, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) 1,667MW and Balochistan 599MW, according to a Ministry of Water and Power official.
However, Abbas said that Punjab utilities had taken an excess of 96,530MW in a year and therefore they were receiving 8,000MW daily.
Gas allocation to the power sector has decreased from 44% in 2005 to 27% in 2012. The reduction of gas has compelled an increase in furnace oil, resulting in hike in power tariff by 88% since 2005. It had also cost $14 billion in 2012 against furnace oil import of $3.5 billion in 2005. “The issue of gas re-allocation should also be looked into closely,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 5th, 2012.
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