Bilawal slams abysmal performance of Ministry of Water and Power

KARACHI: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, chairman of Pakistan People’s Party, has denounced the abysmal performance of the Ministry of Water and Power as reported by the power sector regulator, Nepra, recently.
He stated that after the scandalous Nandipur and Quaid-e-Azam solar park projects, both of which have become liabilities for the government, the Nepra Annual Report lays bare all the inefficiencies, mismanagement and corrupt practices of the present incumbents, and it exposes the government’s total failure to address the problems as it promised it would in 2013 elections.
The Nepra report states that the Ministry of Water and Power has failed to check the underutilization of power generation companies (Gencos) and corrupt practices of distributing companies (Discos) who have been covering up their mismanagement by robbing the consumers by over-billing, as 70 per cent of the inspected meters were found faulty by the regulators.
Appreciating the PPP lawmakers for submitting adjournment motions in the House, the PPP chairman said, “For three years we heard the State Minister for Water and Power accuse the people of different provinces as ‘thieves’. Will the Minister now please answer who the real thieves are?”
To add insult to injury, instead of putting its house in order the Ministry of Water and Power is now calling for explanations from Nepra, which is ironical as it is the Ministry which has to give explanations to the nation.
Will the Ministry explain why despite massive oil price falls, electricity is still unaffordable for the consumers? Will it also explain why the power companies are hiding their inefficiencies and line losses by overcharging the consumers due to faulty metering? Will it inform the nation why Gencos are working under capacity and why the government is forcing shutdowns of power companies, including Nandipur?
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari demanded that the Ministry of Water and Power compensate the consumers who have been over-billed and honestly inform the nation about the true picture of the power sector failures.