1,050MW power to be added to national grid in three months: official

RECORDER REPORT

ISLAMABAD: Iran will complete the repair work of power production units within three months which will add 1,050 megawatt to the national grid, the National Assembly’s standing committee on water and power was informed on Friday.

Federal Secretary for Water and Power Zafar Mehmood stated this during a meeting of the committee that was held with  Ghulam Mustafa Shah in the chair. He said that there was a persistent huge gap between demand and supply of electricity and the ministry was utilising all available resources to bridge the gap.

He said that Iranian and Chinese companies were assisting Pakistan enhance the performance of domestic power plants, adding that after overhauling, an additional power generation capacity between 800 to 1,200 megawatts would be available.

He informed the committee members that gas supply to power plants had been increased to 120mmcfd, improving the situation. There would be a three-hour relaxation in load-shedding during Iftar timings while there would be a two-hour relaxation during Sehri, the secretary maintained.

The ministry, he said, was devising an online scheme, enabling consumers to get schedule of load shedding for their respective areas.

 Zafar Mehmood stated that the tariff subsidy for consumers was not provided to power companies on time, affecting the smooth supply of electricity.

During the meeting, Rana Tanveer raised the issue of attitude of SE Sheikhupura and said that SE Sheikhupura was only facilitating people of his own caste (Rajputs) while others were being ignored.

Sajjadul Hasan said that officials of distribution companies took bribes to reduce the duration of load-shedding in various areas.

Bilal Yasin said that the man who failed to deliver in the ministry of water and power had become the country’s prime minister, adding that the situation in the water and power has worsened.

Pointing persistent voltage fluctuations in electricity supply, he said people were out on the street, while officials were “betraying the nation by chanting the slogans ‘all is well’.

The committee directed the secretary water and power to fix the responsibility for the worsening power situation and ordered him to submit a report in this regard.