Additional 550 MW Is Being Provided To KE To Control Load Shedding: NA Told

Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar on Tuesday informed the National Assembly that the federal government is providing additional 550 megawatt (MW) to K-Electric to mitigate the suffering of residents of Karachi

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Jun, 2021 ) :Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar on Tuesday informed the National Assembly that the Federal government is providing additional 550 megawatt (MW) to K-Electric to mitigate the suffering of residents of Karachi.

Replying to a Calling Attention Notice raised by Junaid Akbar, Sher Akbar Khan and others on shortage of transformers, and other electrical equipment resulting in load shedding in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the minister said that 350 MW was being supplied to K-Electric despite K-Electric owes billions of Rupees to the federal government.

Hammad Azhar said the decision was taken to give relief to the people of Karachi keeping in view the hot season. Owing to the supply of additional power, load-shedding was gradually decreasing, he added.

PTI member national assembly Malik Anwar Taj's on power load-shedding in his constituency said that load-management was being carried out in areas of excessive power pilferage.

However, the minister assured the house that new aerial bundle cables would be installed in the constituency to control power theft. It would also help control load shedding, he added.

Coming hard on the past governments, Hammad Azhar said that PTI government was not responsible for wrong doing by the previous regimes of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

He said that not a single penny was invested by PML-N and PPP on infrastructure to address the issue of load-shedding in the country. Expensive contracts were signed in power sectors during last 10 years adding that the PTI government has re-negotiated that contracts with Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and LNG's contracts, he added.

The minister said that political appointments were made in the Energy Ministry but present government was committed to improving the transmission system.

Hammad Azhar said that Pakistan would have 50 per cent extra electricity in 2023 but the country would pay Rs 1500 billion annually due the expensive contracts which were signed by the PML-N and PPP.

He said that Pakistan could produce 30,000 MW electricity but the transmission system could hardly supply 24,000 MW.

The Minister also assured the House that shortage of transformers and other electrical equipment in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would soon be addressed.