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WAPDA chief to look after affairs of power firms

Earlier, water and power sectors were working separately.

Our Correspondent March 19, 2013 1 min read

The move will lead to improvement in the affairs of power companies, says Wapda spokesperson. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD: The chairman of the Water and Power Development Authority has been given discretionary powers and all state-run power companies have been given under his administrative control.

“The competent authority is pleased to designate the Wapda chairman to act as overall coordinator for the power sector to enhance the administration and coordination. Chief executive officers of DISCOs (distribution companies) and Gencos (generation companies), NTDC (National Transmission and Dispatch Company)/Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) and Pepco will report directly to him for coordination, in turn he will be reporting to the secretary water and power,” says an office order issued by the Ministry of Water and Power on Monday.

This is a marked shift from the earlier separation of water and power areas on the insistence of multilateral donors, but the ministry argues that the Wapda chairman will be able to put the system in order.

It is a question mark how with this move the problems in the energy sector will be fixed. The PPP-led government, which completed its tenure on March 16, could not resolve the mounting problems in the sector in the past five years with circular debt now standing at a whopping Rs450 billion.

According to sources, the water and power ministry had sent a summary to the prime minister, recommending merger of the power sector into Wapda, but the premier brought power companies under the administrative control of the Wapda chairman.

A spokesperson for the water and power ministry told The Express Tribune the move would lead to improvement in the affairs of power companies. He declined to elaborate.

The office order of the ministry says the Wapda chairman will nominate a member on the board of directors of DISCOs, Gencos, NTDC and Pepco after completion of formalities. It says the chairman will be the co-chair on the board of directors of NTDC/CPPA.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 20^th, 2013.

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