Power supply to KWSB offices restored

Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) restored on Friday the power supply to Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) offices after the surety given by the government of Sindh for the clearance of the arrears.
Taking notice of the situation, the Corps Commander, 5 Corps, Lieutenant General Ahsan Saleem Hayat, called the Managing Directors of the KESC and KWSB to 5 Corps Headquarters on Friday morning, and instructed the KESC Managing Director to restore the power supply.
He also directed the KWSB Managing Director to clear the electricity dues through the assistance of Sindh government.
Moreover, the Sindh Local Government Department, in a letter issued on the directives of Additional Chief Secretary Muhammad Saleem Khan on Friday, also assured the KESC that as far as the rest of the amount outstanding against the Water Board was concerned, the same was in the process with government of Sindh.
The letter further said that a meeting was also being arranged with the City District Government of Karachi (CDGK), KESC and KWSB to resolve the issue.
After the assurance, the KESC immediately restored all the severed connections of the KWSB, a KESC spokesman said in a press release.
He further said that it was a fallacy that the KESC was charging higher tariff from the KWSB, and added the correct position was that 70 percent of the KWSB bill constituted the charges of the power supplied to water pumping stations on industrial tariff, which was the cheapest KESC tariff.
"The residential colonies are on bulk supply tarrif much lower than the commercial rates. Only the head office and other administrative offices of the board are charged as per other government offices on commercial rates," he added.
The KESC spokesman explained that the power utility was not fixing its own tariff that it might enhance or reduce the charges of any single consumer.
The power tariff was determined by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) under the law and the KESC could not change it, he said.
However, in case the KWSB was interested to be supplied electricity on agriculture tariff, they should apply to the Nepra for the same, he said, adding this had been communicated to them in the past also.
In case the KWSB approached the Nepra for change of tariff, the KESC would be willing to support their application, the spokesman concluded.