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Thursday March 28, 2024

No relief from power outages in sight

By Khalid Mustafa
May 15, 2017

ISLAMABAD: The financial woes of inefficient power sector continue to haunt masses in the shape of power outages, and there is no relief visible in sight. The power outages have gripped the whole country with average 10 to 16 hours, despite the fact that reasonable hydro generation of over 5,000MW is available.

Though the system constraints that mainly include the inability of electricity distribution system to carry the increase in load of electricity coupled with the huge rise in demand that has also crept up as the issue in smooth deliverance of electricity to the end consumers, but yet the circular debt is still very much there with Rs451 billion which has increased the inability of power sector to run the power plants with capacity allowed by the regulator.

The starling figures of receivable of the power sector as of March 31, 2017, also unfold how inefficient this sector is in recovery of its arrears. According to latest data, the private sector has emerged the biggest defaulter of the power sector as it owes to pay over Rs506 billion. In the private sector, power sector is badly needed to be paid the huge amount of Rs380 billion by running defaulters.

Interestingly, Water and Power has also become the defaulter as it woes to pay Rs1.77 billion. In addition the Armed Forces are also in the list of defaulters of power sector which are needed to pay Rs1.39 billion. The federal government is also needed to pay Rs1.87 billion.

The data as of March 31, 2017, reveals that the total receivables of power sector stands at Rs690 billion, showing that the cash flow situation will continue to bite the electricity consumers in the form of massive load shedding. The inability to recover the Rs690 billion amount has eroded the capacity to pay power houses owing to which they are unable to ensure the fuel for 100 percent power generation which results in the load shedding.

 In the data, it has also been mentioned that the Centre has waived of arrears of Sindh amount to Rs44.12 billion after reconciling the figures by both sides (MoWP and government of Sindh) by acknowledging the fact that the said amount of Rs44.12 billion was included in the dues of the province through figure fudging. The data shows that Sindh is now liable to pay Rs16.21 billion to power sector. Similarly, KP owes to pay Rs20.51 billion, Punjab Rs2.16 billion and Balochistan Rs6.41 billion.

In the head of agriculture tube-wells, the receivable of power sector has swelled to whopping Rs173 billion. More importantly, K Electric has also emerged as permanent headache as it is needed to pay Rs56 billion. As far as the AJK government is concerned, the dues of power sector against AJK have also increased to Rs75.45 billion.