Electricity crisis: Power cuts in summer to last six to eight hours

State minister asks Imran to take notice of PTI MPs involved in power theft in K-P.


Zafar Bhutta January 18, 2014
Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali. PHOTO: ONLINE

ISLAMABAD:


Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali on Friday cautioned consumers about the impending six to eight hours of load-shedding in the coming summer season. He also urged Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan to seek resignations from PTI legislators involved in power theft.


Addressing a press conference, Ali alleged that ministers in the K-P government were involved in defaulting power bills and that PTI banners were placed on kundas in K-P.

The state minister was confident that nobody was stealing electricity in his constituency in Faisalabad, and promised to resign if anybody was found pilfering power.

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“There are more than 90 per cent line losses in many feeders of K-P and that despite the provision of proof against power pilferers, the PTI-led provincial government was still reluctant to take action against the accused,” Sher Ali said. He added that only 10 per cent of the people in K-P paid electricity bills due to which a massive amount of electricity was pilfered.

Sher Ali also alleged that provincial minister Shah Farman had made announcements in mosques telling people not to pay electricity bills and that his constituency had to pay bills worth Rs1.35 billion.

Talking about the problems faced by Peshawar Electricity Supply Company (PESCO) officials, the minister said the provincial government deliberately shied away from facilitating Pesco workers in accessing no-go areas.

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“Receivables of Pesco have swelled to Rs87 billion while the provincial government owes Rs30 billion to Rs40 billion to the federal government,” he said.

Calling for impartial treatment, Sher Ali said the Tarbela Dam produced 320 megawatts (MW) but Pesco’s demands were over a 1,000MW.

“We should go beyond provincial prejudice and take decisions based on national interest,” the state minister remarked after quoting these figures.

“Dams are the property of the federal government and not any individual. The K-P government should first construct a dam if it wants to provide free electricity to the masses,” he said.

Talking about line losses in Punjab, the minister said line losses of four distribution companies in Punjab were 15.4 per cent while total receivables were Rs499 billion.

He also said that in the coming summer season, the government would restrict load shedding to six to eight hours and 2,000MW would be added to the national grid.

In response to a question, the minister said the first phase of the construction of Dasu Dam would add 2,130MW of electricity to the national grid by 2017.

He also said that after the completion of Tarbela’s unit four and five, 2,500 MW of power would be added to the grid.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 18th, 2014.

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