Karachi:
The members of the Sindh Assembly have unanimously condemned the detachment of load not announced by the K-Electric, Hesco and Sepco electricity distribution companies. PPP leaders, MQM, PTI and Jamaat-E-Islami joined in their demand for an immediate purpose to surprise the power cuts.
Despite the strong calls of the Special Energy Committee to reduce load detachment, the CEO of K-Electric Moonis Alvi continued to defend the energy cuts not announced. The committee expressed a strong disgust for the poor performance of electricity companies and ordered a strict term of ten days for compliance.
The members of the Committee questioned how the load detachment schedule was changed without their approval, especially after the prior guarantee that there would be no charge of load at night. K-electric officials, Hesco and Sepco did not provide satisfactory answers.
At a meeting held on Monday at the Sindh Assembly building and chaired by Fayyaz Butt of PPP, the special committee ordered all electricity companies to immediately stop the night charge detachment and strictly adhere to an approved schedule. The president of the Sindh Assembly, Owais Qadir Shah, also attended the session.
Other participants included PPP leaders Ghulam Qadir Chandio, Asif Musa, Sadia Javed; MQM Ali Khursheedi leader; Muhammad Farooq of Jamaat-E-Islami; and senior officials of K-Electric, Hesco and Sepco. The CEO of K-Electric Moonis Alvi apologized for missing the previous meeting.
The frustration of the committee was evident since members criticized prolonged and unpredictable power cuts throughout Sindh, especially in Karachi. The meeting was tense before the arrival of the CEO of K-electric, and some members threatened to issue a notice of display cause for their absence.
Moonis Alvi was roasted on the legal basis for cargo detachment. He affirmed that it was necessary due to line losses, but the members of the committee demanded to know by what law such measures are authorized. The officials did not provide clear legal justification.
MPA of Liaquatabad Moaz Mehboob warned that the FIRs must be registered against the K-Electrical officials for the illegal charge detachment. When Alvi responded by mentioning the theft of electricity, Mehboob expressed his support to take energetic measures against theft.
The speaker of the Sindh Assembly, Owais Qadir Shah, emphasized that all electricity companies must provide a clear loading schedule. Muhammad Farooq of Jamaat-E-Isami stressed that the previous agreement prohibited the detachment of night charge, questioning how the schedule was changed without the approval of the committee. Alvi defended the need for cuts during heat waves, but Farooq dismissed the claim, noting that Karachi’s temperatures had not reached 45 degrees.
The meeting also saw the members expressing frustration for the derogatory attitude of the CEO Alvi. Bilqis Mukhtar criticized him for not taking concerns seriously, while Sajad Soomro and Sadia Javed asked him to stop using his mobile phone repeatedly during the meeting. Sadia also demanded an apology from the K-Electric officials for disrespectful comments made towards a MPA in a previous session, a demand that Alvi recognized with an apology on behalf of his institution.
Alvi admitted the K-Electric failure to effectively combat electricity theft and said that a stronger action was needed in the affected areas, although cutting connections remained a challenge.
