‘Technical, distribution power losses curtailed by 1.1 pc’

Younus Dagha says circular debt effectively managed in 2016; loadshedding
to end by 2018

SUKKUR: Ministry of Water and Power Secretary Muhammad Younus Dagha, while talking to ‘The News’, has said that one of the several 250 MVA Heavy Duty Power Transformers has been working on more than 700 major transmission and distribution system constraints since 2013. He further added that around 500 constraints were removed and they were working on the remaining to ensure loadshedding free power network by 2018.

Dagha said that a follow-up joint meeting of the Ministry of Water and Power and the KFW German Development Bank was held on March 13. KFW appreciated the measures taken by the Ministry of Water and Power to overcome the loadshedding and the ministry’s laudable work in the power sector.

He said that the KFW German Bank officials also apologised over a wrongly published story by their paper. He said that there would be no loadshedding by 2018, adding that 600 megawatts would be added to the national grid to minimise loadshedding.

The secretary claimed that there was no loadshedding at the industrial level. He further added that the Kalabagh Dam issue was no longer a matter of   concern – as there was no possibility of its revival until all the provinces would unanimously agree.

He said that he had directed CEOs of Sukkur Electric Power Supply Company (Sepco) and Hyderabad Electric Power Supply Company (Hesco) to reduce tariff theft, line losses, recovery losses and transmission losses because the performance of both companies was not satisfactory.

Dagha said, “We have achieved another milestone of inventing Smart PTW System – which has been successfully launched in the country with pilot project in IESCO. It is the world’s first Smart PTW using bio-metric technology. Its launch will further be amplified by introducing it in other companies.”

He said that the country’s fourth nuclear power plant at Chashma Unit-3 with 340 megawatt power generation capacity had been successfully connected to the national grid. “Two larger capacity nuclear power plants K-2 and K-3 near Karachi are under construction and will be completed by 2020 and 2021 respectively,” he asserted.

He pointed out that the circular debt – which was increasing by Rs11 billion to Rs16 billion per month and around Rs200 billion per year – had been effectively managed. “There was only a marginal increase of Rs8 billion in the debt in 2016 compared to Rs200 billion in the past years,” Dagha said.

He said that the overall recoveries of the power sector stood at 94.3 percent in 2016 compared to 88 percent in 2013. “Similarly, the overall technical and distribution losses were curtailed by 1.1 percent – from 19 percent to 17.9%. Both the increase in recoveries and decrease in line losses translated into a direct cash benefit of Rs60 billion to the power sector,” he claimed.

Dagha shared, “The maximum power generation in the year reached 17,350 megawatts. The improved financial health and smooth payment mechanism has not only encouraged the existing independent power producers (IPPs) to contribute maximum power generation but has also encouraged significant new investments in the country. Similarly, the IPPs received 104 percent payments against their invoices and gas companies also received 104 percent payments in 2016.”

He said that the recovery targets of Sepco and Hesco were not appreciable. In this regard, the secretary instructed the CEOs of both Sepco and Hesco to improve their progress otherwise the ministry would take action against them.