Payment of electricity bills continued in KP as people reject protest against inflated charges
PESHAWAR (APP): The payment of electricity bills continued in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including Peshawar despite protest demonstrations against an inflated bills in some areas, and the consumers have started clearance of their monthly dues to get uninterrupted power supply in the sizzling heat.
Rejecting the politically-motivated protest of handful of elements, the consumers of all districts of KP in substantial number were seen at banks and mobile franchise units besides post offices on Wednesday where they paid their electricity bills.
Besides many other consumers, Riazul Haq, a former PST teacher and a resident of Pabbi Nowshera district has also cleared his electricity bill of August charged by the Peshawar Electricity Supply Company (PESCO).
“Payment of electricity bill is not a kindness on Govt but it is essential for provision of an uninterrupted power supply to the consumers,” he said, adding majority of his relatives have paid their electricity bills.
However, he said the burden of free units consumed by PESCO or Wapda employees and stolen electricity should not be shifted on law abiding consumers.
Misal Khan, a retired civil servant, who was paying his electricity bill at Post Office Mohib Banda Nowshera said,” I visited Pabbi PESCO Circle Office the other day and get relief by dividing my electricity bill for payment as an installment.”
“Burning or non-payment of electricity bill was no solution to the problem of inflated bills. We need to conserve energy by switching off an extra electricity appliances to cut our bills,” he said, adding we need to adopt the culture to save and protect electricity like the way we protect our lands, jewelry and other valuable.
However, he complained about trippings and fluctuations of transformers/power lines that were causing burning of electricity appliances and inflicting economic losses to poor people.
Demanding strict action against power stealers, he said Pakistan was confronting to the monster challenge of energy shortfall owing to non-construction of dams. He said our past governments had failed to construct new dams after Turbella, which resulted an increase of load shedding, power circular debt and inflation that negatively impacting humans, agriculture and industrial consumers.
Professor Dr Muhammad Naeem of Swabi University told APP that protest against inflated bills were no solution rather we need to fully exploite KP hydel power potential by constructing new dams that would help reduce electricity cost and address problems of load shedding.
He said Pakistan had over 60,000 megawatt hydropower potential including 30,000MW of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where construction of small, medium and large dams would help arrest load shedding and reduce cost of electricity units besides addressing power circular debt related problems.
He said in world including subcontinent countries, focus was being made on small and medium dams as it requires less time and investment compare to large dams.
Dr Naeem said about 46,000 dams had been constructed across the globe including 22,104 dams by China, 5,334 by India, but unfortunately, Pakistan built only about 150 small and large dams since its inception, resulting increase of electricity cost units today.
He said small dams could easily be constructed in KP due to it’s better hydropower location on rivers in a short span of three years while big dams mostly require 10 to 15 years with more investment.
“Pakistan would require additional 76 MAF water by 2050 which was only possible by constructing small and medium dams to meet the growing water demand.”
PESCO official told APP that increase of electricity’s unit cost was a policy matter, and the company was bound to implement the decision of the government.
He said KP was receiving about 1, 873MW electricity from the national grid while its demand was around 3,220 MW, facing a shortfall of 1,347 that was being fulfilled through scheduled load management besides gas, coal, solar and other renewable energy resources.
To bridge the demand-supply gap and counter power theft cases, the PESCO official said the load management was being carried out in high line losses feeders in Peshawar, Nowshera, Bannu, DI Khan, Karak, Lakki Marwat, Khyber, Bajaur, Waziristan and others tribal districts.
Uninterrupted power supply was being provided to all those areas where line looses are zero and financial recovery was 100pc, he said.
Tribal Electricity Supply Company (TESCO) spokesman said about 180 MW was being drawn from the express transmission line for merged tribal areas against 1,000 MW demand, adding the 820MW shortfall mainly occured due to power stealing through direct hocks.
The non-meterization and direct hocks in merged areas overload the power distribution system besides causing fluctuation and tripping of electricity that often caused burning of expansive electrical appliances of consumers.
Qaisar Khan, a retired PESCO employee told APP that every department provide facilities to its employees and free units to our employees was mainly due to their low wages and risky jobs.
Meanwhile, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Energy Department expedited work on 11.80MW Karora Hydropower Project (HPP) at Shangla. As many 96.2 per cent work on the project having a total cost of Rs4620.06 million completed and would be inagurated soon subject to contenious availability of the engineers at the site.
Engr Malik Luqman, Chief Planning Officer, KP Energy Department said that construction work on 40.8MW Koto HPP at Timergara Lower Dir costing Rs13,998.89 million has almost been completed and electricity would start after clearance of State Bank of Pakistan for the already imported/upcoming E&M equipment.
Asked about 10.2MW Jabori HPP, Mansehra , the official said work on the project had been started at November 2014 with PC-1 cost of Rs2331 million. Later, its approved cost was revised to Rs3798.26 million and up till now 99pc work on the project completed.
He said that agreement would be required to purchase electricity from these projects for which the concerned authorities were approached.
The federal government has earmarked Rs205.38 billion for HPP in the budget 2023-24 include 2,160 MW Dasu HPP (Rs. 58,597 million), 1,410 MW Tarbela IV Extension (Rs. 590 million), 969 MW Neelum Jhelum (Rs. 4,828 million), and 1,530 MW Tarbela V Extension (Rs. 4,449.463 million).
Major transmission projects such as CASA-1000 (Rs. 16,099.255 million), Dasu Evacuation (Rs. 5,667.094 million), Suki Kinari Evacuation (Rs. 13,800 million), and AMI IESCO project in the distribution sector (Rs. 3,000 million) were reflected in budget 2023-24.
Additionally, eight projects for supplying electricity to Spcial Economic Zones (SEZs) was allocated a total of Rs. 7,267.352 million and by the end of June 2024, the transmission sector is expected to have an additional capacity of 3,750 MVA on the 500kV grid and 6,900 MVA on the 220kV grid. The transmission lines will be extended by 522 km on the 500kV level and 668 km on the 220kV level.
Resultantly, 6,985 villages would be electrified and 1,403,592 consumers for Distribution Companies (DISCOs) would be facilitated besides extending distribution lines of 132 kv by 1,843 km, and the capacity of 132 kv grids would be strengthened by 4,199 MVA.
WAPDA officials here said that 72 percent work on multipurpose Kurram Tangi (Stage-1) Bannu and North Waziristan has been completed and is expected to be inaugurated in November next year.
The design and feasibility studies of its stage-II is under process that would be completed with a loan assistance of the Asian Development Bank.
With the completion of Kurram Tangi dam, the official said 1.2 million acres feet water would be stored and 80.9MW electricity to be generated besides benefiting over three million people of southern districts of Khyber Pakthunkhwa.
Besides completion of 108MW Golen Gol dam in Chitral, work on Mohmand dam of 800MW with 1.293 MAF water storage capacity were speeded up that after completion would supplement/irrigate 160,000 acres of existing land and about 18,237 acres of new land with annual benefits of Rs2.23 billion.
Likewise, 300 million gallons water per day will also be provided to Peshawar for drinking purpose with benefits of Rs.957 million from Mohmand dam.
Mohmand dam would save Peshawar, Charsadda and Nowshera from floods having annual benefits in terms of flood mitigation was estimated at Rs1.467 billion besides producing 2.86 billion units of environment-friendly electricity to the National Grid every year with annual revenue of Rs. 45.76 billion. The overall annual benefits of the project stand at Rs. 51 billion.
The construction work on a high voltage direct current (HVDC) convertor station was in progress at Azakhel Bala Nowshera district under the CASA-1000 Project for transmission of 1300 MW inexpensive, clean, and environment-friendly electricity from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan via Afghanistan to Pakistan.
CASA-1000 Project carried a great example of mutual cooperation between the governments of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan aimed at harnessing clean energy trade and building a shared regional electricity market, fighting climate change, and increasing standard of living for their populations.
HVDC converter station Nowshera would be linked by an HVDC transmission line to efficiently transmit electricity from hydropower-rich Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan via Afghanistan and onward via Torkhum to Afghanistan.
The experts said these projects after completion would not only address the issue of load shedding but help reduce electricity per unit cost besides bolstering agriculture and industrial growth in Pakistan.
