ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif has said that federal government is not responsible for the deaths in Karachi caused by a devastating heatwave.
“Karachi Electric (KE) is responsible for providing electricity to Sindh and not the federal government,” said the minister while addressing the National Assembly on Wednesday.
He further said that deaths in Karachi were caused by shortage of water not by power shortage.
Asif said there is a power shortfall of almost 3,000 megawatts in Pakistan. Giving a brief overview of the performance of Electricity Distribution Companies (Discos) across the country, the minister said the total national power generation as of Wednesday morning stood at 13,144MW, while the total demand of power clocked in at 16,645MW.
The minister said that from July 2014 to April 2015, Gujranwala Electric Power Company’s (Gepco) billing stood at 98.4 per cent, while losses were 9.8pc, adding that it was 7pc less as compared to National Electric Power Regulatory Authority’s (Nepra) overall losses.
Asif said Multan Electric Power Company’s (Mepco) billing was 100pc during the period under review, adding that Faisalabad Electric Supply Company’s (Fesco) billing also stood at 100pc.
He further said Lahore Electric Supply Company’s (Lesco) billing is 98.2pc whereas Islamabad Electric Supply Company’s (Iesco) is 89.2pc.
The minister said the losses in Islamabad were due to Afghan refugees who had established several slums and were also involved in incidents of power theft.
He said that two Iesco employees had spotted power theft sometime ago, and had initiated action against the accused persons but were shot dead.
