Dispute between KESC, SSGC lingers on
Feud takes fresh turn after SSGC announces gas supplies to KESC normalised while KESC contests claim.
KARACHI:
The ongoing feud between Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) and Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) took a fresh turn on Wednesday after SSGC announced that gas supplies to the power company had been normalised while KESC contested the claim.
“We had reached an understanding with SSGC that they would increase the supply of gas to KESC up to 220 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd), which is what we were drawing from them until some months back,” KESC spokesperson Amir Abbasi told The Express Tribune. “But they have gone back on that commitment and our supply has been reduced to 140 mmcfd,” he added.
On Monday, KESC had announced an extension of half an hour in power outages on the ground that gas supplies to the company had been curtailed by SSGC.
On Tuesday, SSGC said it has restored gas supplies to the power company. “After the completion of repair work at Bhit gas plant, supply of gas to KESC has been restored to normal level,” an SSGC official informed at around 3:30 in the afternoon.
However, by evening, the company’s spokesperson Inayatullah Ismail revealed that “water entered the plant premises at Bhit at about 6 pm, forcing us to curtail supplies to KESC once again.”
SSGC officials informed that the gas field produces 334 mmcfd but is currently producing about 320 mmcfd. “Repair work will likely be completed by Thursday evening,” added Ismail.
KESC officials criticised the gas company, contesting that supply has not reached the desirable level for weeks. “A hydel unit of electricity costs about one rupee. On gas, it costs about Rs5 while on furnace oil it costs between Rs12 and Rs13 per unit,” Abbasi said. “By reducing our gas supply, they are forcing higher tariffs and longer hours of power outages on the people,” he said.
The ongoing wrangling between the two utility providers has been termed “an inevitable consequence of inter-corporate debt” by some observers.
The supply of gas from Bhit field may be restored soon but as the cash-strapped federal government has already indicated that a plan for settling circular debt has been shelved for now, the dispute between the two companies is likely to drag on.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 14th, 2010.
The ongoing feud between Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) and Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) took a fresh turn on Wednesday after SSGC announced that gas supplies to the power company had been normalised while KESC contested the claim.
“We had reached an understanding with SSGC that they would increase the supply of gas to KESC up to 220 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd), which is what we were drawing from them until some months back,” KESC spokesperson Amir Abbasi told The Express Tribune. “But they have gone back on that commitment and our supply has been reduced to 140 mmcfd,” he added.
On Monday, KESC had announced an extension of half an hour in power outages on the ground that gas supplies to the company had been curtailed by SSGC.
On Tuesday, SSGC said it has restored gas supplies to the power company. “After the completion of repair work at Bhit gas plant, supply of gas to KESC has been restored to normal level,” an SSGC official informed at around 3:30 in the afternoon.
However, by evening, the company’s spokesperson Inayatullah Ismail revealed that “water entered the plant premises at Bhit at about 6 pm, forcing us to curtail supplies to KESC once again.”
SSGC officials informed that the gas field produces 334 mmcfd but is currently producing about 320 mmcfd. “Repair work will likely be completed by Thursday evening,” added Ismail.
KESC officials criticised the gas company, contesting that supply has not reached the desirable level for weeks. “A hydel unit of electricity costs about one rupee. On gas, it costs about Rs5 while on furnace oil it costs between Rs12 and Rs13 per unit,” Abbasi said. “By reducing our gas supply, they are forcing higher tariffs and longer hours of power outages on the people,” he said.
The ongoing wrangling between the two utility providers has been termed “an inevitable consequence of inter-corporate debt” by some observers.
The supply of gas from Bhit field may be restored soon but as the cash-strapped federal government has already indicated that a plan for settling circular debt has been shelved for now, the dispute between the two companies is likely to drag on.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 14th, 2010.