Once again parts of the country are in grip of electricity breakdown and NEPRA has taken serious notice of unscheduled loadshedding of up to 12 hours by all the DISCOs.

Interestingly when parts of country under Discos are facing up to 12 hours loadshedding, the federal government offered 500MW additional power supply to K-Electric.

KE system constraints are hurdle in taking additional 500MW from national grid offered by federal government, said an official spokesperson. A spokesperson of Ministry of Energy has said that increased loadshedding in Karachi by K-Electric is attributed wrongly to non-availability of fuel by the federal government.

He said that the federal government is providing 800MW electricity to KE and is ready to provide additional 500 MW from national grid but the KE system physical constraints are a major hurdle in taking the additional electricity. It clearly indicates that system up-gradation on part of KE has not taken place at the appropriate level and with appropriate investment.

It is worthy to note that Federal Cabinet while keeping in view the general welfare of the people of Karachi has already approved provision of additional 1100 MW from the national grid to KE. However the KE system is not able to absorb the additional electricity at present and its system up-gradation will go on until 2022-23 to fully take the additional supply.

The supply of LNG is available but on account of Article 158, only a limited quantity of LNG is being taken by KE. SSGC is providing a total of 250 - 290 MMCFD of gas including 75 - 100 MMCFD of LNG.

Meanwhile, the Petroleum Division has made arrangements for supply of 80% of Pakistan domestic RFO production to KE to run its power plants. In addition, the federal government has also made arrangement for supply of 30,000 tons of RFO from storage of other power plant to immediately fulfill requirements of KE.

The spokesperson added that the Federal Cabinet also allowed for Pakistan State Oil to float a Gallop International Tender to purchase RFO for KE. The tender has already been published.

The Federal Cabinet also approved provision and allocation of 150 mmcfd of LNG for new power plants of KE, the construction of which will be completed by KE by next year in 2021.

The spokesperson said that all the above steps clearly indicate that the federal government has gone out of its way to provide support to KE and the people of Karachi besides running the industries and businesses. It is unfortunate to note that KE did not made investment in the system upgradation and modernization due to which it is facing difficulty at the time of peak demand. The federal government is ready to extend all available support for provision of uninterrupted power supply to the residents of Karachi.

When spokesman Power division Zafar Yaab Khan was asked that when the Discos consumers are facing power shortage then why the federal government offered 500MW electricity to KE, he said that currently neither there is shortfall of electricity or scheduled loadshedding .He said that against the recorded system demand of 22167 MW on June 25, the generation was 23000MW. He said that except high losses areas there is not loadshedding in the country.

Meanwhile spokesman NEPRA said that the regulator has taken serious notice of various media reports regarding unscheduled loadshedding of up to 12 hours by all the Distribution Companies (DISCOs), due to which the public is suffering heavily in this current wave of heat, especially in the areas under lockdown due to COVID-19.

DISCOs under the relevant provisions of their licenses are obligated to provide uninterrupted and reliable power supply to the consumers. Therefore, all DISCOs have been strictly directed to take immediate remedial measures to minimize the loadshedding and also submit a report in this regard to the Authority immediately.

Earlier, NEPRA had taken notice of the excessive/un-announced loadshedding by K-Electric in Karachi. Besides, Authority has taken notice of inflated electricity bills are being charged to the consumers of K-Electric. In this regard, strict directions have been given to the K-Electric to take remedial measures and submit a detailed report to the NEPRA immediately. Furthermore, the consumers who are receiving excessive bills are advised to file complaints with NEPRA Regional Office Karachi or through online at NEPRA's website along with documentary evidence, so that their issues could be taken up with K-Electric for redressal.

K-Electric Board expresses concern about power situation on account of fuel shortage

PR adds from Karachi: In the K-Electric Board meeting held on June 25, the Board expressed serious concerns about the inconvenience suffered by KE's valued customers due to frequent power outages resulting from KE's inability to procure adequate fuel stock.

The meeting was chaired by Riyadh S. A. A. Edrees, with other Board members and KE's management in attendance. Amongst other matters, the Board laid special emphasis on the recent power disruptions in Karachi. KE management briefed the Board about the furnace oil and gas shortages in the country and unavailability of adequate fuel to KE severely impacting its power generation. It was also clarified that this shortage is at the national level shortage and that KE was not the only company affected. While the Board appreciated the federal government's commitment to resolve the issue and to allow furnace oil imports, they also urged KE management to further expand their efforts with the fuel suppliers and relevant government entities for earliest continuation of fuel supply to KE in order to provide immediate due relief to its valued customers. On behalf of KE's customers and its management, the Board also appealed for relevant authorities' urgent attention to this matter, and expressed hope that this situation would be fully resolved in the next 4-5 days.

© Pakistan Press International, source Asianet-Pakistan