As the government has failed to implement the ‘Uniform Gas Management Policy’ announced by Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) in June 2011 to minimise the electricity crisis, Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) has threatened to increase load shedding by 10 hours.
The company has started getting reduced gas supply from Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) this month despite clear directives of the ECC regarding increase gas supply to the power company while reducing the supply to CNG stations and the industrial sector. Therefore, electricity supply to domestic, commercial and industrial consumers would be reduced. The privately run public utility, which was getting almost 200 MMCFD gas from SSGC, is now receiving only 180 MMCFD against the ECC decision, which directed the ministry of petroleum and natural resources to ensure supply of over 250 MMCFD, official sources in KESC said. According to KESC, the company has appealed to the federal minister for petroleum and natural resources, Dr Asim Hussain, for the earliest implementation of decisions of the ECC considered in the summary presented by the ministry of petroleum and natural resources, on 30th June this year.
The summary under the, ‘uniform natural gas load management policy’ envisaged a two-day holiday per week for CNG stations and industrial sector, and 20 per cent curtailment in gas supply to fertiliser plants. The gas so saved was approved to be supplied to KESC in order to preempt a potential power crisis in Karachi across all residential, commercial and industrial areas. KESC further claims that after a heavy spell of late monsoon rains, mercury is rising in Karachi and humidity is making things worse, leading to a significant increase in power demand. With the current supply of gas that is at 180 MMCFD, KESC desperately waits for the ECC’s decisions to be implemented immediately. KESC has warned that load shedding duration will go up to 10 hours a day if the aforesaid decisions are not implemented and KESC is not supplied its approved volume of 276MMCFD of gas.
The company recalled that on June 30 this year, ECC meeting on ‘uniform natural gas load management policy’ had taken two important decisions. It had directed the SSGC to observe two gas holidays per week for CNG and industrial sector and the gas thus saved be diverted to KESC. The ECC had also decided that 20 per cent gas curtailment being observed in the fertiliser sector would continue. The company made it clear that the present load shedding schedule could be maintained only if these decisions were implemented without further delay. Otherwise insufficient fuel supply would force KESC to conduct a maximum of 10 hours load shedding in residential and commercial areas. Presently, exempted industrial consumers will also be subjected to load shedding. KESC asked for intervention of federal committee members (Dr Asim Hussain, Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh and Mr Naveed Qamar) to help the utility in providing its approved quota of 276 MMCFD of natural gas, or with a reduced gas supply of at least 200 MMCFD plus 1,700 tons of furnace oil at gas price as per the agreed formula in Ramadan ul Mubarak. The intervention of the committee in this matter could help KESC to avert the imminent power crisis.
