PM asks KESC to take steps to bridge demand and supply gap of electricity
From Zeeshan Mirza

KARACHI—Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said Saturday that there is a surge in the demand for electricity as a result of the high growth and investment in the industrial sector and KESC should take necessary steps to bridge the gap between demand and supply to resolve the problems faced by the people of Karachi.
He was presiding over a meeting here at the Governor House held to review the power supply situation in Karachi.
The Prime Minister said the government is working to make Karachi the business and commercial hub of the country. It is closely monitoring the power supply situation in the city to solve the problems faced by domestic and industrial consumers, he added.
He said Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) urgently need to improve its transmission system so that it could be in a position to distribute additional power for which it is in the process of generating.
The Prime Minister directed that mobile transformers be introduced in Karachi as a back up support to tackle the problem of power shortage caused by failure in transmission lines.
Chief Executive and Managing Director KESC Frank Sehersehmidt briefed the meeting about KESC's plans to enhance its power generating capacity.
He said presently there is no shortfall in terms of power supply as the demand and supply of power are almost matching and the power breakdowns are mostly caused due to renovation activities and the construction work going on in most part of the city.
Mr Frank said KESC is working on a comprehensive plan to increase its power generation and distribution capacity. The plans being implemented will result in addition of 1000 MW additional power to the KESC system within a period of two years.
The CEO KESC informed that the company will spend Rs 22 billion during the next three years on expansion, renovation and rehabilitation of its facilities.
He said as a result of steps being taken by KESC the power supply situation will considerably improve by April next year.
Federal Minister for Water and Power Liaquat Jatoi informed the meeting that Federal government will provide necessary funds to KESC under Physical Improvement Plan to enable it to ensure smooth power supply to Karachi.
Shaukat Aziz asked KESC to set up more complaint centres, increase its interaction with community and public representatives and also keep the public informed about its plans through media.
The meeting was attended, among others, by Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Senator Muhammad Ali Durrani, Minister for Inter Provincial Coordination Salim Saifullah Khan, Minister for Water and Power Liaquat Ali Jatoi, Minister for Ports and Shipping Babar Khan Ghori, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Commander Khalil-ur-Rahman and Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Resources, Naseer Mengal, City Nazim, Syed Mustafa Kamal, Naib Nazim Nasreen Jalil and other senior officials.