Eyebrows were raised when the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) increased its electricity generating capacity by around 200 megawatts on Thursday, against its routine power generation due to, what sources claim, the presence of President Asif Ali Zardari in the metropolis. KESC has been generating around 300 megawatts of power from its Bin Qasim Power Plants for the last few weeks, generated around 500 MW on Thursday.
Interestingly, according to sources, the three units, 1, 2, and 6, which were previously generating the total electricity of around 300 MW, have started generation of 160,170,160 MW respectively, totalling 490 MW. "If the three units can generate 490 MW why wasn't the company generating the same amount earlier," they said adding that this proved the company's tactics of deliberate reduction of power generating capacity.
Only three units of the 1150 MW Bin Qasim Plant were presently being run while the rest three units were switched off for maintenance works and the lack of furnace oil or lower gas pressure. General Secretary of Peoples Workers Union Lateef Mughal (PWU) of KESC said that the management of the company was deliberately cutting power generation to save money which was proved in the last few days.
He alleged that this step was taken by the management to only convince the president, in his presence in the metropolis that it was currently improving the company's generation. "As soon as the president leaves the city it will come to its previous state of long power outages," he said adding that the situation was not likely to be changed as the private management had failed to invest in the company since its privatisation.
Those plants, being run on gas were also supplying less electricity for what, they said, the lower pressure of gas, the company received from the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC). Besides, the IPPs DCL of 85 MWs was also dysfunctional for the last two months, due to faults occurred in its blades. Karachi Nuclear Plant (Kannup) on the other hand has started supplying 80 MW to KESC after remaining switched off for 10 days for maintenance work.
However, official sources in KESC said that three-hour loadshedding was on going in the city. For better understanding of the general public, the company has started counting the loadshedding in hours and not in number of megawatts. They said the two units at BQTPP were switch off for planned maintenance work. The remaining units would also go through routine maintenance for one month, in three stages and would continue till March 2010, they added.