ISLAMABAD: The government has bifurcated Hyderabad Electric Power Company (HESCO) to establish a new power distribution company, Sukkur Electric Power Company (SEPCO), to meet the needs of an expanding population as well as to more effectively manage the transmission network.
The Ministry of Water and Power informed the National Assembly Standing Committee on Water and Power of their intention here on Saturday. Chairman Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah headed the meeting of the committee.
The members of the committee had wanted to focus on the issue of rental power plants, especially the 232 MW plant mounted on the ship Karkey Karadeniz, but the Secretary Water and Power Javed Iqbal clarified that the matter would not be the focus of the discussion.
SEPCO CEO Shamsuddin Shaikh said that the new company was established formally on November 23, 2010 after being branched off from HESCO. He said the company would have three main areas of operation in Sukkur, Larkana and Dadu.
He said the need for a new distribution company was felt, as HESCO alone was inadequate with meeting the requirements of the whole province. Shaikh indicated that SEPCO would liaise with National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) to determine tariff rates.
The company had receivables of Rs 17.4 billion from the Sindh government and stressed the need for assistance from the committee members for recovery of dues. The committee members recommended that officials of WAPDA involved in corruption be removed from service instead of being merely suspended. The committee also recommended that WAPDA harness the power generation capacity of sugar mills to reduce the national power deficit.
Earlier Abid Sher Ali complained that the meetings of the committee were held after long gaps. He urged the convening of the meeting on a more regular basis. The chairman seconded his viewpoint and supported his assertion.
