20000401

Wapda, KESC working on gas-based units

RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) and the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) are working on a plan to convert as many as possible of their thermal power generation units into gas-based units, in order to offset the increase in generation cost owing to off and on rise in furnace oil price Wapda and KESC Chairman Lt. Gen. Zulfikar Ali Khan told a delegation of the Council of Karachi's Industrial Associations (CKIA), led by its Chairman Farooq Bakaly,

The general said: in the meantime, he had requested the government that the concerned ministry supply the furnace oil to the KESC on subsidised rates, as KESC's generating system was basically thermal system.

In case no positive response was received from the government, he added, then no option would be left with the KESC but to increase the power supply rates. However, he categorically ruled out any immediate increase in power tariff due to the recent increase in oil prices.

He assured the industrialists that there would be no loadshedding in Karachi, this year, particularly in industrial areas, despite a six percent increase in power demand, which now stands at 1,900 MW per day.

He said as compared with the last summer's peak demand of 1780 mw, the KESC was expecting the demand to rise to 1,900 mw owing to the revival of activities in the textile industry which was obviously a good sign for both industry and KESC.

He said the KESC was in a position to meet the anticipated six percent increase in demand thanks to the phased maintenance and load management of feeders, generating units and the PMTs.

Commenting on one time change of name/title on KESC bills for the purpose of claiming General Sales Tax (GST) input relief without a charge, the Wapda chairman did not agree to the industrialists' demand and said that KESC could do it on one condition that the consumer pay an additional security deposit equivalent to two and half months consumption as per prevalent rules. Pressed by industrialists, he agreed to accept the differential amount of the security deposit already lying with the KESC in shape of Defence Saving Certificates, etc, after calculation of accumulated interest thereon at the rate fixed by the KESC Accounts Department earlier. He was prepared to allow maximum installments also to facilitate the industrial consumers to pay the amount, for which modalities could be sorted out in a separate meeting, with the managing director of KESC.

On pointation by the delegation that despite survey/re-survey the KESC Zonal office have not regularised excess load even after a lapse of one year, the chairman took a serious note of it and ordered KESC officials that all such cases should be completed before March 31,2000.

As regards charging the fee, for regularisation, he said that in those cases where the applications were submitted before the cut-off date i.e. September 30,1999, the required fee would be Rs 500 per KW as agreed .

As for those cases which had been submitted after September 30,1999 and had been surveyed, the excess load would be regularised after charging the normal fee i.e. Rs 3000 per kw and ordered the KESC officials to act upon it strictly and complete the work before March 31, 2000, on war-footing.