Damocles sword: WAPDA privatisation now inevitable, says Abid Sher Ali

‘Government working to add 1,500MW to the grid before summer starts’ .

MULTAN: Privatisation of the Water and Power Development Authority is now inevitable, Federal Minister for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali said on Tuesday. “Wapda’s planned privatisation is for the welfare of the masses,” he said.

He was talking to journalists in Multan.

He said the course of privatisation would take into account interests of Wapda employees and reservations of their unions. “We will protect the interests of employees at all cost and work towards improving the power management sector.”

The minister said summer was approaching and with it fears of load shedding.

“We are working towards adding 1,500MW to the grid before summer starts.”

He said the prime minister had ordered that the duration of load shedding in cities should not exceed six hours a day and in rural areas eight hours. “We are doing our best to comply with these directions,” Ali said.

He said the government was also working to establish new transmission lines, build grid stations and upgrade the system of load management.

“Outmoded transformers will be replaced on an urgent basis during summers. Power plants are also being upgraded,” he added.

He said there were some legal problems in cases of sealed power houses.

“The Neelam-Jhelum project will add 969MW once complete…all transformers in Phase II will be upgraded before summer starts.”

Ali said that LNG and CNG would be available at gas stations during summer.

Prior to the media talk, Ali inaugurated the installation of ABC Cables in Ahmadabad. Talking to members of the Power Looms Association, he said foundation work of the project will be completed in a month at a cost of Rs500 million. He said government had already mitigated the power crisis in the industrial sector. “The duration of load shedding in the power looms sector has gone down from six hours to four hours.”

Power Looms Association president Khaliq Qandeel said the cables were fire and water proof and would lead to fewer accidents and deaths due to electric shocks.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 11^th, 2015.