Media asked to be careful in reporting protests on power crisis

[Naveed Yaseen]

By Saad Hasan
KARACHI: Top executives of electricity distribution companies have advised media to be careful in reporting protests against power breakdowns as ‘sensational coverage’ is encouraging more and more people to take to streets throughout the country.

Protests, which have erupted against incessant load-shedding amid the worst power shortfall, have now snowballed into a campaign advocating non-payment of electricity bills, they said.

“These protests are having a chain-reaction effect,” said Amin Sahi, CEO of Multan Electric Power Company (Mepco), victim of one the first power riots which erupted a few weeks back. “People must understand that there is not much that can be done immediately.”

Mepco’s area of coverage which is spread in Punjab from district Multan, Khanewal to Muzaffargarh, D G Khan and down to Rajanpur is facing a power deficit of more than 50 per cent.

Sahi said while it was justified for people to vent their anger, it is useless to resort to violence. “In this collective suffering we should be patient and rather consumers should conserve energy.”

In April this year, factory workers in Multan angry over the loss of daily wages due to power breakdowns had burned the office of Mepco, something which Sahi says cost the company more than Rs3 million.

The past few days have seen people come out on streets in Sheikupura, Toba Tek Singh and Faisalabad with demands of downward revision in power tariff. Earlier in the week in Lahore, an office of a local power supply company was torched by an angry mob.

Rana Ashraf Zahid, CEO of Gujranwala Electric Power Company (GEPCO) said that the issue of power crisis was being politicised as some political parties were patronising the protests.

He said consumers must be made to realise that power crisis could not be addressed overnight. “Government has taken steps on a fast track basis like the installation of rental power plants. A 1000mw rental plant is being set up here as well.”

Now, the countrywide sentiment is being reflected in Karachi where traders on Wednesday burned monthly power bills and held demonstrations. Authorities had to beef up security at the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) head office after some of the scattered protests turned violent.

Power crisis has not been as severe in Karachi as the rest of the country but KESC, the only privatised utility, has to face consumer ire due to inflated monthly bills.

Experts say consumers have to pay more because substantial line losses in the dilapidated power transmission and distribution system of the country are reflected in bills. Line losses are highest in Peshawar and Hyderabad.

Farhat Ali, CEO of ABB, a power engineering company, said that increase in generation capacity will be fruitless without simultaneous investment in new transmission lines and grid stations.

While water scarcity and consequent reduction in hydro electricity generation has reduced overall power supply, it has also added to the cost of production as imported fuel oil is being used in thermal power plants.

A drastic increase in demand for relatively cheaper natural gas in other sectors has also lessened its availability for power production.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=142904