The breakdown of 1100MW Mangla Hydel power house has cost the nation more than Rs 14.40 billion economic losses in eleven days, besides triggering countrywide protests against the load shedding for extended periods, power generation, economics and agricultural experts told Business Recorder here on Friday.
It may be recalled that Pakistan's second largest hydel power generation unit, Mangla, had developed a technical fault and stopped operations on 29th June, when the country was already going through 10 to 12 hours daily load shedding. Former General Manager, WAPDA Power Wing, Engineer Salauddin Rafai said, "Mangla hydel power house produces 30 million units cheap electricity daily, and due to its shut down, WAPDA is incurring a loss of about Rs 300 million per day.
Rafai, who managed the power generation and distribution without any load shedding or disturbance from 2001 to 2006 said, "WAPDA alone cannot be held responsible for the current state of the affairs as the previous government did not make adequate investment in the power sector and WAPDA was forced to take bank loans at an exorbitant rate of 18 percent."
He said, "Everyone knows that the 40 years old Mangla's power generation machinery and cables had outlived their normal life and these should have been replaced long ago, but no one took the necessary measures." Rafai emphasised that the government or WAPDA had no right to write off electricity dues of any segment of the society or part of the country as it was public money.
Zero contribution by Mangla hydel power house has resulted in 22.427 percent power shortage and an additional 5.3 hours daily load shedding that has adversely affected the industrial, commercial and agricultural sectors. According to economists, Pakistan is suffering a daily loss of Rs 1.2 billion due to the excessive load shedding in the industrial, agricultural and commercial sectors.
Former chairman of the Pakistan Association of Automotive Parts and Accessories Manufacturers (PAAPM) Malik Mohammad Aslam said the auto parts and vending industrial units had almost been closed due to power shut down. "The economic losses in the form of lost working hours of hundreds of manufacturing units and high cost of production have gone into billions."
Senior vice president of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Tahir Javed Malik said the sale of engineering manufacturing goods was already down by 45 percent. "Unemployment and poverty is increasing gradually and we do not know what will happen in future," he added.
Commenting on Mangla power house's indefinite closure, another industrialist and former senior vice president of LCCI, Sohail Lashari questioned "If the government cannot maintain and run the existing power houses, how is it going to end load shedding in the country in the near future."
"Every one knows that our existing hydel power houses are outdated and there is an urgent need for their modernisation and replacement, but no one seems to be bothered about the national problems," he added. He said, "Pakistan has an installed capacity of 20,000 MW electricity generation, but our total daily power generation is not going beyond 12,000 MW."
A prominent Textile Industrialist S. M. Naved said, "Electricity is the second major input after the raw material for the textile industry. If the government ensures uninterrupted electricity to the textile sector we have the capacity and capability to compete in the international markets and increase exports despite the international financial crunch."
He demanded of the government to give priority to the infrastructure building and generation of electricity for rapid industrial and agricultural development of the country. Chairman of the Pakistan Agri Forum, Ibrahim Moghal said, "Due to shortage of canal water and shut down of 1.8 million tube wells run on electricity, rice sowing in Punjab has already been delayed, while sugarcane and cotton crops have also suffered losses of about Rs 5 to 7 billion.