ISLAMABAD - Different stakeholders relating to electricity generation and loadshedding have failed to reach on consensus as to which factor should have priority in terms of the equitable distribution of the electricity.
“The distribution formula needs to be continuously reviewed and appropriate adjustments need to be made,” Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Munir A Malik suggested this in his report.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had directed the attorney general to have a meeting with all the stakeholders and come up with workable solution. The bench will take up the case regarding prolonged hours of loadshedding today (Wednesday).
The AGP in pursuant of the court order on June 12 held a meeting with the representatives of Ministry of Water and Power, PESCO, IESCO, the distribution companies, Sui Northern gas pipeline limited (SNGPL), cement and textile industries in his office.
According to AGP report, the participants linked the equitable distribution to a number of factors such as whether or not the consumers were paying their bills, prevailing weather conditions, level of discomfort, nature of the industrial process, supply or non-supply of gas, the effect on employments and binding contracts, whether export orders are involved.
Munir A Malik noted that other contentious issues on which the parties were at odds included the figure of total demand of power in the country. The ministry of water and power estimated the figure to 17,211 megawatts but the APTMA disputed the figure.
The APTMA further contested the figures of the connected load of the various DISCOs, the distribution companies, as provided by Ministry of Water and Power. The attorney general further said there were certain issues that were agreed upon by the participants of the meeting.
The first agreed point is that as much as 10,483 MWs electricity was being generated currently in the country. Further all the electricity produced is fed into the main grid station from where it is distributed by NTDC to the DISCOs in proportion to their respective connected loads.
In addition the participants agreed that there was no mechanism for ascertaining whether a distribution company had drawn electricity according to the amount that was allocated to it under the share it received from the grid station.
The ministry of water and power shall prepare plans for shedding plans based on different permutations as the hours of domestic loadshedding and industrial loadshedding have an inverse relationship. An extra hour of supply for one sector means an extra hour of loadshedding for the other, added Munir Malik.