K-Electric's operations discussed at length

Karachi's power utility K-Electric recently held a briefing session in Karachi in which the company's operations were discussed. The session which also included a tour of different areas of the city including KE's state-of-the-art call centre, Bin Qasim Power Station II and Integrated Business Centre explained the process of transformation the 105-year old company has gone through.
The informative briefing session was held by the Chief Marketing and Communications officer Syed Fakhar Ahmed along with his team. The interactive forum discussed the core functions of the only vertically integrated power utility in the country, Generation, Transmission & Distribution.
K-Electric's management has already added 12 new grid stations since taking over in 2009, whereas more than 11,000 transformers have also been added to the transmission and distribution network. The current management has invested more than $1.4 billion and added almost 1,057 MW since 2009. The utility now has 29 integrated Business Centres (IBCs) which are a one-stop shop for all consumers.
According to KE Director Communications Sadia Dada the transition towards a more systematic and technologically advanced system has allowed KE to be more responsive to customers including use of SAP IS-U which is the world's best system for billing ensures efficiency and transparency.
Head of Distribution Operations Amer Zia added that the continual investment on the transmission and distribution network is making the supply of electricity more stable and reliable. Electricity theft is one of the most critical issues the company is facing, according to Amer, but it is being tackled with constant installations of the Aerial Bundled Cables (ABCs) across the city.
The new cables eliminate the threat of power theft especially in areas where previously the theft ratio was high. K-Electric's PKR 5 billion "Ujala Project" aims to empower the lives of millions of people residing in 200 communities across the city. This project community engagement allows the KE teams to penetrate the area and successfully install ABC to overcome theft.
With Karachi's power demand growing by the day, the power utility does have an uphill task to keep pace and meet this ever-growing demand and the utility's leadership remains committed to consistently enhance the reliability of power supply across its network.