News
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Punjab govt scoring points on load shedding issue, Senate told* Power minister accuses Punjab of not implementing conservation measures
* Announces end to unannounced load shedding in big cities
By Ijaz Kakakhel
ISLAMABAD: The Water and Power Minister Syed Naveed Qamar on Friday assured the Upper House of parliament that there would be no unscheduled load shedding in big cities as 2000 MW power had been added to the system during the last 24 hours.
The minister was responding to the queries raised in the Senate, particularly after large-scale protests across Punjab. The Senate session was also attended by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) representatives.
“The measures being taken by the government will help reduce load shedding,” the minister assured the Senate, adding that the 12-hours load shedding in big cities will be immediately controlled. However, he said the issues regarding water inflow at Tarbela and Managla could create some problems.
The minister regretted that the Punjab province could not implement the conservation measures suggested by the energy conference held in Lahore under the chairmanship of the water and power minister and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, while the rest of the provinces strictly followed the power conservation measures suggested by the conference. Instead of implementing conservative measure, the Punjab government had started agitation for political point-scoring, he said.
Earlier, Senator Raza Rabbani said Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) had pushed Karachi into darkness by not generating power at its full capacity, particularly using furnace oil. Instead of providing relief to general consumers, the company had pushed them into darkness and adopted anti-workers policies. He said the KESC had totally failed to fulfil its commitment and suggested the government should take over the company’s management.
Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Senator Saeed Ghani claimed the KESC had been blackmailing the government, and WAPDA and had totally failed to serve the people. Therefore, he said, legal
ways were needed to take over the company.
Awami National Party’s (ANP) Senator Shahi Sayyad said the KESC had taken billions of rupees in loans on the guarantee of the government of Pakistan. Speaking about the KESC, Naveed Qamar said some extraordinary events took place at the company when all its four units tripped on Thursday and a large portion of Karachi went without electricity. But in a couple of hours, the power was restored, he said. The minister also clarified that KESC was a private limited company and the government could not take over its control without following proper procedures.
Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid’s (PML-Q) Senator Kamil Ali Agha regretted that the government was bulldozing the important issue of power crisis in the country. He claimed that a rural area of Punjab remained cut off from power for four to six days, following which, during protest demonstrations against the prolonged load shedding, the protesters attacked offices of the PML-Q and some other parties. He also claimed that a political party was trying to do political point-scoring over load shedding.Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk