By Asim Hussain
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Energy (Power Division) while expressing grave concerns on overbilling and performance of Independent Power Producers (IPPs) on Friday sought detailed briefing from IPPs in the next meeting.
The Committee which met with Muhammad Idrees in the Chair discussed overbilling and unannounced load-shedding in Karachi. Additional Secretary, Ministry of Energy (Power Division) briefed the Committee regarding overbilling and unannounced load-shedding of electricity in Karachi. He informed the Committee that the means of generation of electricity is not same in every region. The generation of Electricity in Karachi is through thermal resources which is one of the expensive forms of power generation. Under the government uniform tariff policy everyone in the country pays the same price for electricity in spite the fact that the generation cost in the region is high. However, the government provides differential payments to K-Electric in form of subsidy just to provide relief to the consumer.
Similarly, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), K-Electric informed the Committee that K-Electric has been facing significant financial losses due to increase in the number of defaulters. K-Electric is facing severe financial constraints that are impacting the ability to provide reliable and affordable energy services.
He further informed the Committee that 2000 MW has been added to the National Grid since the company has been privatised. Similarly, the losses of K-Electric have been reduced from 40% to 15% since privatisation.
The Chief Executive Officer, Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO) while discussing the issue of overbilling informed the Committee that there is no overbilling in HESCO jurisdiction. However, in case of any individual mistake regarding overbilling, the issue is investigated and bills are corrected as per procedure in vogue.
He further apprised the Committee that 91.8% complaints received in respect of overbilling has been resolved successfully.
The meeting was attended by MNAs, Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhary, Sheikh Aftab Ahmed, Raja Qamer ul Islam, Chaudhry Naseer Ahmed Abbas, Syeda Nosheen Iftikhar, Rana Muhammad Hayat Khan, Mr. Muhammad Shahryar Khan Mahar, Mr. Khurshid Ahmed Junejo, Mr. Nauman Islam Sheikh, Syed Abar Ali Shah, Syed Waseem Hussain, Mr. Junaid Akbar, Mr. Sher Ali Arbab, and Malik Muhammad Aamir Dogar. Mr. Muhammad Iqbal Khan and Syed Rafiullah, MNA’s/Movers were also present in the meeting.
The senior officers from Ministry of Energy (Power Division) and its attached departments also attended the meeting.
