Islamabad:
The National Assembly Energy Committee was reported on Wednesday that the Government was preparing an aid for energy consumers affected by floods, which would be announced in one or two days.
The panel, chaired by Muhammad Idrees, met to discuss prolonged cargo zipper in the Hyderabad electric supply company (Hesco) and measures to offer concessions to electricity users affected by floods.
PPP legislator Syed Hussain Tariq, who had traveled from Hyderabad, raised strong objections on Hesco’s performance. He complained that the utility resorted to the elimination of load even in areas with a 90 percent recovery.
“Nowhere in the world the rain causes electrocutions, but in Hyderabad, people die due to an insecure infrastructure,” he said, added that 152 feeders remained closed for three days during recent interruptions.
The Secretary of Energy, Fakhre Alam Irfan, said the load zipper was carried out on the basis of energy losses.
Tariq asked who was responsible for the death of three people who died of electrocution during the rains and ten deaths in 2022 due to a transformative oil fire. “I am not here to defend or accuse anyone but to fix the system. There is no justification for four -day blackouts,” he emphasized.
The Secretary of Energy acknowledged that Hesco’s annual losses had reached 60 billion rupees last year, largely due to poor recoveries and governance problems.
He said that unlike fine and Lahore distribution companies, where recoveries were about 100 percent, Hesco continued to fight. “We have ordered discos not to penalize honest consumers with the same treatment as power thieves,” he told the committee.
Hesco’s officials informed legislators that the utility would now change the load displacement of the management based on the feeder to the transformers. “Only those transformers where the theft will occur will face interruptions,” they said.
The member of the Nausheen Iftikhar committee raised concerns about inflated bills. “How can a daily salary worker pay an RS30,000 bill at once? There must be a solution for quotas,” he suggested.
The committee also occupied the issue of relief for consumers affected by flooding.
The Secretary of Energy said that the Government was in contact with the IMF and the Ministry of Finance to finish a special energy relief for victims affected by floods.
“A help package for flood victims will be announced in one or two days,” he said, added that the power division remained in close coordination with the prime minister’s office.
The secretary argued that electricity rates would not increase until June 2026, adding that the electricity sector had provided relief to people compared to last year. “Protected consumers who use up to 200 units receive an invoice from RS6,000-7000”.
He also clarified that Hesco and Sepco were not being privatized, but they would change towards a concession model after performance improvements. “In the first phase, three discos will be privatized,” he said.
Tariq pressed Hesco Management in unnoticated energy cuts. “NEPRA AND THE POWER DIVISION allow only seven to eight hours of scheduled interruptions. Why is the unnoticed load zipper carried out?” He asked, warning that false statements before Parliament could lead to privileges.
