ISLAMABAD – The government, on Monday, notified reconstruction of the Board of Directors (BoDs) of all power sector distribution companies (DISCOs) and the National Transmission Dispatch Company (NTDC) after two months. New inductees include a few professionals but more people without experience.
An official announcement said that the Prime Minister had approved reconstruction of BoDs of all DISCOs, along with the NTDC. The government has advised CEOs of DISCOs and NTDC to obtain consent of each nominated director and fulfill all formalities under the Companies Act-1984 for convening the boards.
An official source stated that boards lacked the required professionalism to steer DISCOs out of the quagmire. He added that majority of the notified members were friends of the Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Dr Nadeemul Haq, who is leading power sector reforms. “The thumb rule to include professionals in BODs has been ignored”.
The source claimed that inclusion of legal eagles, with an experience of over 30 years, was proposed as many legal issues will arise in power sector restructuring. Chartered accountants are needed to improve financial management and to deal with regulators, NEPRA and OGRA. DISCOs will undergo transition in the near future and experts are needed to deal with the massive manpower.
People from energy sector, instead of people with little experience of resolving complex power sector issues, were needed. Inclusion of businessmen will trigger a conflict of interest. “These boards, instead of resolving issues, would further complicate matters for DISCOs”.
The government had dissolved BoDs of all power distribution, generation and transmission companies on November 22. This decision was made in wake of the ongoing power sector reforms. Granting full autonomy to DISCOs is one of the key demands of World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB). The government is incurring a massive subsidy of Rs 20 billion per month on account of differential between actual and notified tariff.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has already warned the government that power subsidy could bankrupt the country. The country’s power sector consists of 14 state owned entities, including nine distribution, four generation and one transmission company.
The government had announced that boards would be revamped and would be set up on professional lines, in accordance with the guidelines of the Cabinet Committee on Reforms (CCOR), with special emphasis on representation from private sector professionals and consumers. The guidelines stated the proposed size of boards to range between eight to ten members. However, all notified boards have over 10 members.
NTDC: The 16-member Board of Directors (BODs) of NTDC includes ex WAPDA member Khalid Motadullah, former LUMS VC Dr Syed Zahoor Hassan, Hagler Bailly MD Vaqar Zakria, Glaxo Smith Kline CEO Salman Burney, Irrigation Sindh Ex-Secretary Bashir Daher, Advocate Salman Cheema, Privatisation Commission Ex-Member Amir Qavi, former WAPDA CE Sarfraz Khan, PIDE Joint Director Dr Muslehuddin, PIDE Chief of Research Dr Zafar Mueen Nasir
IESCO: The 14 member BODs of IESCO include, MD Ittehad Steel Mohsin Khalid, Rector, NUST, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, President, Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry,
ex-member Privatisation Commission Board Farid Rehman, CEO, Sihala Flour Mills, Islamabad Tariq Sadiq, President, Heartile NGO Dr. Sania Nishtar, Accountant Shaukat Malik, Member Engineering CDA, Businessman Muhammad Khalid Qureshi, CEO IESCO, Member Technical Federal Flood Commission Asjad Imtiaz Ali, Representative of CCOR, Member Privatisation Commission Board.
LESCO: The 16 members BODs of LESCO include Chairman APTMA Mian Ijaz Gohar, Associate Dean, SDCB Prof. Jamshed A. Khan, former MD SNGPL Javed Hussain, President of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce, Industrialist Kamran Arshad, Businessman Muhammad Zakria Butt, Lawyers Faisal Naqvi and Ahmad Rafay Alam, Dr. Khawar Daha Civil Society, former President Women Bank Zarine Aziz, Zahid Zaman Citizen Action Forum, ex-member Power WAPDA Fazal Ahmad Khan, CEO LESCO, JS-Power Ministry of Water and Power, Representative of CCOR Member, Privatisation Commission Board.
FESCO: The 15 member BoDs include CEO, Media Con Group of Companies Nadeem Aftab Sindhou, President FCCI, Chairman, Chenab Group of Industries Mian Latif, VC Agriculture University, Faisalabad, VC National Textile University, Faisalabad Industrialist Rana Mushtaq A. Khan, Ex-President CCI Hamid Javed, Civil Society Dr. Tariq Mehmood Malik, Principal, Kashmir Public Academy Bilquis Akhter Hashmi, Businessman Wasif Majid Sheikh, Lawyer Asghar Ali Qaiser, CEO FESCO, Engineering Advisor Ministry of Water and Power, Representative of CCOR, Member Privatisation Commission Board.
GEPCO: The 13 member BoDs include MD Services Industries Hassan Javed, President, GCCI, CE Grays of Cambridge Ltd., Sialkot Khawar Anwar Khawaja, Ex-Chief Executive Engineer, GEPCO, Sialkot Mirza Arshad Mehmood, Businessman, Automobile Parts, Gujranwala Muhammad Ashfaq, Senior Partner Fergusons Shahid Sadiq, Ex-Federal Secretary Muhammad Ashraf Khan, VC University of Gujrat Prof Dr Mohammad Nizamuddin, Businessman Maqsood Butt Arooj Garments, CEO GEPCO, JS-Power Ministry of Water and Power, Representative of CCOR Member, Privatisation Commission Board.
MEPCO: The 14 member BoDs of MEPCO include Fatima Group of Industries Mohammad Fawad, President Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Head of Commerce Department, BZU Dr Mujahid Ali, Renowned Poet and Columnist Khalid Masood, Social Activist Rahat Multaniker, Aamir Haroon Tangwani, Dean, University College of Engineering & Technology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Dean, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Agriculturists Noor Ul Haque Jhandir Mailsi, Rabia Gurmani, CEO, MEPCO, JS-Power Ministry of Water and Power, Representative of CCOR Member, Privatisation Commission Board.
HESCO: The 12 member BoDs of HESCO include Agriculturist Muhammad Hussain Talpur, Senior Partner, Deloitte Pakistan Asad Ali Shah, Ex-Member PC Board Mehmood Nawaz Shah, Businessmen Haji Yaqoob, Chairman, A.F. Ferguson Sohail Hassan, Collector for Social Sciences Research (CSSR), Karachi Asad Saeed, Chairman BRR Capital Modarba Rafique Dawood, President of the Chamber of Commerce, Hyderabad CEO HESCO, JS-Power Ministry of Water and Power, Representative of CCOR Member, Privatisation Commission Board.
PESCO: Ex Member, Water (Engineer) Hasamuddin Bangash, Ex-Member (Water), WAPDA Sardar Tariq, CEO, Frontier Foundry Nouman Wazir, Director, Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar Prof. Nasir Ali Khan, Former, MD-OGDC Raziuddin, President of the Peshawar Chamber of Commerce, CE, Karcon Syed Ashfaq Hussain Shah, VC, University of Peshawar Imtiaz Gillani, Ex-VC, Quaid-e-University, Islamabad Prof. Dr. Muhammad Qasim Jan, Businessmen Haji Muhammad Sharif and Usman Bilour, CEO, PESCO, JS-Power, Ministry of Water and Power, Representative of CCOR Member, Privatisation Commission Board.
