LAHORE - The Ministry of Water and Power has claimed that residential consumers all over the country will not have face loadshedding now as electricity demand is currently 11,000MW, while 9,800MW are being generated. The electricity shortfall has decreased to 1,200 MW which will lead to an end of loadshedding for residential consumers. The shortfall is bridged by loadshedding in industrial sector. The NTDC spokesman said that hydel generation is contributing 3,740MW and thermal generation is contributing 1,515MW to the national grid. He said 4,545 MW are also being generated by IPPs.
Meanwhile, State Minister for Water & Power Abid Sher Ali, in a press briefing here on Saturday at WAPDA House, claimed that PTI is creating hindrances in drive against power theft in KPK. He said govt has prepared a plan to outsource several feeders of DISCOs to make power system more efficient.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif himself is monitoring the situation and being briefed weekly. He will himself visit all power distribution companies and other institutions concerned.
He said that 90 feeders in Peshawar Electric Supply Company are having 90 per cent losses. Some of these losses are as high as 99.99 per cent, he claimed.
He said a member of KPK, belonging to Pakistan Tehreek Insaf, is creating hurdles in campaign against power theft. Similarly, he alleged, power losses in the area of ex-speaker of KPK assembly was as high as 99.9 per cent. He admitted that there are certain areas in Lahore where losses are as high as 80 per cent. He said a law would be presented in next cabinet meeting for making power theft a non-bailable offence.
The govt has asked DISCOs to undertake audit of losses in their respective areas in order to have a clear picture in this regard. He said on the spot action would be taken against responsible SDOs, XENs and SEs of distribution companies wherever we found power theft and low recoveries.
He said 120 mw Dubair Khawar Hydropower project and 22mw Satpara Dam would be completed next month. About new coal-fired thermal plants in Gadani, he said Qatari and Russian investors have expressed keenness to invest in the projects.
Sher Ali said progress on conversion of thermal plants on coal is also being made besides importing LNG by August-September 2014 for meeting requirements of gas-fired and diesel and furnace oil run thermal plants.