in a press release issued by K-Electric, the company expressed its disapproval of the statements made by Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali regarding the money owed by KE to different institutions. Abid Sher Ali has gone on record to quote figures regarding KE's payables. What is shocking to note is that the State Minister has been giving different figures on every occasion.
In a statement made a few days ago, the minister claimed that KE's payables had touched PKR 30 billion; recent statements have suddenly exaggerated this number to PKR 100 Billion. Responding to this gross misrepresentation of facts, KE spokesperson said, "Abid Sher Ali should stop throwing random figures of KE's payables. It is not KE but the Government that owes KE around PKR 100 billion in arrears."
The government has claimed that they have eased the circular debt in the country, but K-Electric has not received a single rupee of payment to clear this debt off. The minister's comment that KE should be nationalized also sparked concern among the company, which believes this is a highly contradictory stance. On the one hand the ministry is looking to privatise major entities including different loss-incurring Discos; on the other hand, they talk about nationalising a profitable organisation with a sovereign Generation, Transmission and Distribution network. The press release unequivocally stated that unlike Abid Sher Ali's claims, KE had added over a 1,000 MW to its generation capacity, and had spent millions to rehabilitate its old network and plants.
On the lingering issue of 650 MW, KE's spokesperson stated that the company was ever-ready to enter into an agreement with the Government, but would not accept anything less than the previous offer. Karachi should be provided electricity at the same rate which other cities get, owing to the significant role it plays in the nation's revenue generation. K-Electric's new and upcoming projects are expected to be online within the next 5 years, and an agreement with NTDC which covers this timeframe was imperative.
KE's spokesperson said, "the provision of 650 MW electricity is necessary to Karachi and its adjoining areas of Sindh and Balochistan, including the industrial and hub sectors as well. "The government needs to understand that any negative decision against extension would lead to grave consequences for Karachi including affecting revenue generation of the country's economic hub".
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