News
Sunday, March 28, 2010
PEPCO, WAPDA squeezing the ‘power’ out of consumers
* Electricity shortfall reaches 4,700MW
* Up to 20 hours of load shedding in some areas
* Sale of generators on the riseBy Zeeshan Javaid
ISLAMABAD: People across the country are suffering at the hands of the Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) and the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), as the 4,700 megawatt electricity shortfall has triggered up to 20 hours of load shedding every day in some areas.
The country is going through one of its worst phases of the energy crisis, while people say that extended announced and unannounced load shedding has broken the back of the common man, besides forcing a number of industrial units to shut down.
According to reports received from across the country, the rise in the mercury level and frequent blackouts have turned the country into a living hell. On the other hand, the Ministry of Water and Power attributes this power crisis to a shortage of water in reservoirs.
PEPCO sources say the gap between the supply and demand of electricity may increase in the coming months due to a rise in temperature, while officials in the ministry concerned say that there would be less load shedding in May and June, as compared to last year. According to PEPCO spokesman Muhammad Khalid, the shortfall recorded across the country on Saturday was over 4,535 MW. He said the demand of electricity stood at 14,645 MW, while the supply was 10,110 MW.
Denying the official figures, sources in the Water and Power Ministry said the electricity shortfall during the last 24 hours stood at 4,750 MW in peak hours and 4,535 MW in off-peak hours.
Areas that were hit the most by unannounced load shedding were the rural parts of Southern Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan, where 19 to 20 hours of load shedding were reported.
Blessing in disguise: The intensity of heat combined with frequent load shedding has come as a blessing in disguise for companies manufacturing generators, who have been provided with a golden opportunity to mint money from the public by selling their products on desired rates.
A high-power commercial generator manufacturing company’s general manager, Zahid Mehmood, told Daily Times that the gap between the supply and demand of generators in the industrial sector was the same, while his company was struggling to meet the demand for generators by domestic users.
He said that a 13 kilovolt-ampere (KVA) generator is priced between Rs 800,000 to Rs 1 million, a 500 KVA generator is for Rs 6 to 7 million, while a 1,250 KVA generator is being sold at Rs 10.25 million to Rs 20.12 million.
“Domestic users and people running small industries or medium-scale businesses cannot afford these generators due to the high prices of petroleum products,” he said.
Meanwhile, sources said the duration of load shedding might reduce in the upcoming months after the water level in reservoirs starts to rise again.
Separately, sources in the Industries and Production Ministry said the government had already closed around 1,332 industrial units, while the remaining small and medium industrial units would be closed in the near future if the power crisis was not resolved.
Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) President Zahid Maqbool told Daily Times that the industrial sector had already suffered a loss of over Rs 220 billion this year, due to electricity and gas shortage in the country, while more than 400,000 workers had lost their jobs because the industrial units are no longer operational.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk