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SSGC attributes power crisis to lack of integrated planning

Staff Report

KARACHI: Managing Director of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) Munawwar Baseer has attributed the current power crisis to lack of integrated planning and absence of any coordination between sectoral entities and engineers.

He stated this during his key note address at the inaugural session of the 2-day symposium on the subject of ‘Looming Power Crisis’ organised by The Institution of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Pakistan (IEEEP) at a local hotel. Engr Mukhtar Ahmad, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Energy was the chief guest at the inaugural session.

Apart from poor planning, Mr Ahmad attributed the crisis to several key aspects that included inadequate energy demand forecasts, inability to address primary energy supply chain development and enhancement and security issues and a regulatory framework that is totally out of sync with ground realities and supply constraints. He said that a regulatory body like NEPRA must play a more proactive role in this regard in the same mode as OGRA that has regularly been making recommendations to the oil and gas sector on related issues.

The MD SSGC said that it was unfortunate that in the last ten years or so, KESC and WAPDA have hardly contributed to any new power generation addition, which has further exacerbated the power situation. Moreover, he observed, that the system losses in WAPDA and KESC power sector are well into double digits, when for any utility, losses should not be more than 6 percent.

Given the gravity of the situation, NEPRA needed to play a more responsible role such as tariff rationalisation for supporting existing and inducting new power generation, planned and forecasted power sector development, curtailment of unwarranted system losses and theft through forceful intervention, MD, SSGC said.

Mr Ahmad said that the way forward is with the national energy plan authority acting as central statutory body for energy planning and project management, government of Pakistan setting up coal power development authority with mandate and funds to set-up coal power projects, fast track agreements and implementation of transnational oil and gas pipelines and development of president of Pakistan’s vision as ‘Asian energy corridor’, thus securing the country’s strategic role in region and ensuring sustainable energy supplies for the future.

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