The Ministry of Water and Power has asked Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) to make some investment in the public utility in the wake of a visible slump in the international fuel prices. Well placed sources told Business Recorder on Wednesday that the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of KESC has rushed to Dubai to meet the high ups of Abraaj Capital, the new management, to discuss the matter of investment in the company.
The Ministry of Water and Power had called the CEO to Islamabad on Monday to discuss about the current grave situation of power in the metropolis and soon after the meeting he had rushed to Dubai, they added. They said that the management has still not transferred its 51 percent right share to the company though it was enjoying the control of KESC for the last four months.
Due to $110 per barrel decline in oil price in the international market the company now has to pay only Rs 27,000 as compared to the previous rate of Rs 57,000 per metric ton if it was used to boost the power generation. There was no solid reason for not using the furnace oil, as the above current rate was almost equal to the gas price in the country, they added.
They said, due to the gas loadshedding in winter, the use of furnace oil was the only remaining option for the company to cater for the power shortages. The company has also the storage capacity of oil for at least six months, in its tanks at Bin Qasim and outside the city, they said. In reply to a query, Ayesha Eirabie, the official spokesperson of the public utility said that the CEO's visit to Dubai was not more than a regular trip.
She, however, could not give the details about CEO's visit to the ministry in Islamabad. Talking about the current shortfall of power in the city, she said that it was approximately around 250 megawatts while leaving the loadshedding of 2 to 3 hours in different areas of the metropolis. However, sources said Karachiites are facing the outages of more than seven hours daily.
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