Power ministry rejects KE's statement on fuel shortage
KE had acknowledged itself that it had been supplied 290mmcfd gas instead of 190mmcfd, says power ministry spokesperson
July 12, 2020
ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Energy (Power Division) on Sunday categorically rejected K-Electric's version of not being supplied ample fuel to meet the energy demands of Karachi.
Earlier this week, KE CEO Moonis Alvi during a public hearing held by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) had said the company's plants ran out of oil due to which it had to resort to load shedding.
A spokesperson of the power ministry said that KE had acknowledged itself that it had been supplied 290mmcfd gas instead of 190mmcfd. He added that this was accepted by the KE representatives in front of the Sindh Governor Imran Ismail and Planning Minister Asad Umar in a meeting on Saturday.
The spokesperson stated that it was wrong of the company to link prolonged power outages to lack of fuel supply at another forum. He added that the city’s sole power supplier had accepted that it generated 89% of power through fuel supply.
He alleged that KE had not made the required investment in its power distribution system due to which it was unable to receive electricity that was already generated, let alone generate its own from the supply of furnace oil.
The ministry's spokesperson reiterated that the Centre had offered to provide 1000MW to KE, adding that the company will have to build a 500KV grid and invest in its distribution system to receive the required amount of electricity.
KE chief says power utility 'cannot be blamed' for Karachi load shedding
A number of public representatives, technical experts, representatives of different entities, members of the business community, journalists and the consumers of Karachi participated in the public hearing of the Karachi load shedding crisis that took place a couple of days ago.
NEPRA Chairman Tauseef H Farooqui presided over the hearing and members of the authority from all four provinces also participated.
KE CEO Alvi told NEPRA that load-shedding in Karachi has experienced a rise since June 22.
“Under normal circumstances, load shedding in Karachi lasts between three to seven-and-a-half hours,” the KE chief had said.
Alvi added that Pakistan State Oil (PSO) had written to the federal government saying that the demand for furnace oil will not be met and had sought permission to import oil.
He said that KE’s plants ran out of oil and not only KE but the government’s thermal power plants, also faced supply shortages.
“PSO got permission to import oil for KE’s power plants after much delay,” Alvi had stated.
The KE chief had further said that due to increased demand for electricity in the summer, load shedding has to be done even in areas otherwise exempt.
“Our request for additional power from the national grid is never considered,” he had complained.
Alvi said that currently, KE takes 720MW to 730MW from the national grid.
