Per unit power tariff may increase by 44.3%: CEO KESC

[Naveed Yaseen]

Power consumers in the city are likely to face an average tariff hike of Rs2.90 per unit if the government withdraws the subsidy on electricity rates, a step being widely feared after the announcement of the federal budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

Speaking at a press briefing on Wednesday, Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Naveed Ismail said that average per unit tariff charged by the power utility stood at Rs6.55 after applying government’s average per unit subsidy of Rs2.90. After the withdrawal of the subsidy, however, the average per unit tariff for KESC consumers would jump to Rs9.45 (an increase of approximately 44.3 per cent), he added.

He, however, said that various factors such as the fuel mix used by the KESC for power generation, prices of furnace oil and gas, and rates of electricity availed by the utility from the independent power producers and Wapda (Water and Power Development Authority) would determine the increase in tariff for the next quarter.

Without revealing details, Ismail said that the KESC has filed a petition with the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) for increasing the tariff for the next quarter. “It is up to the Nepra to determine the tariff increase for various electricity distribution companies, including the KESC. Any increases will be notified by the federal government,” he added.

The CEO said that the present management of the KESC has so far terminated 58 employees after conducting due inquiry into disciplinary and corruption charges pending against them. As many as 51 such inquires against the KESC employees were being conducted by the management.

He said that a zero tolerance policy would be adopted by the KESC management against the utility employees showing persistent dereliction from their duties or having involvement in corrupt practices.

Ismail told the media that about 22 per cent of the total electricity supplied by KESC was being misappropriated, while a total of three million megawatt hours of electricity had been stolen in Karachi from September last to June this year, which was not only causing power outages for the genuine consumers but also inflicting financial losses for the power utility.

He mentioned that some seven to 7.5 per cent of the total 2.2 million consumers of the KESC were being charged on average billing. He said that 20,000 hook connections have been provided by the KESC to its new consumers as temporary arrangement, adding that the present management has so far provided 6,500 new electricity connections.

The CEO said that the KESC’s transmission and distribution systems have been facing eight main cable faults in different areas, affecting the electricity supply to Gizri, Federal ‘B’ Area, Bahadurabad, etc.

He said that the first meeting of the special ministerial committee on KESC affairs on June 1 in Islamabad also discussed the matter of Rs13 billion to Rs14 billion subsidy that the privatised utility was yet to receive from the government pertaining to the previous quarters.

He informed the media persons that the KESC carried out load-shedding of around 78 Megawatts (MW) at around 3pm on Wednesday against the total demand of 2,184MW. The power shortfall faced by the utility was mainly due to the tripping of unit no. 2 of Bin Qasim Thermal Power Station, he said, adding, the KESC was getting 630MW from Wapda for meeting the demand of over 2,000MW.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=181175