Using legal tactics, the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) has found a way to override the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA)’s recent directives on not cutting off power supply to industrial units and has again embarked on it disconnection drive.
The power utility, which had started cutting off electricity supply to industrial units that are using their own captive power generating units while consuming the company’s supply for backup power, was issued a notice by NEPRA during a public hearing ordering it to restore supply to the affected units.
But soon after, the KESC obtained a stay order from the court and continued its disconnection drive against the captive plant-holding units.
According sources, disconnecting power supply to a consumer that does not default on payments to the company is a violation of the consumer rules set by NEPRA. But the power utility is blatantly violating NEPRA rules using the court’s stay order.
Arif Bilwani, a leading industrialist of the city, claimed THE KESC itself has started issuing its own terms and conditions for maintaining supply to industries.
“Only those industries that have signed the KESC’s recently introduced papers can continue getting power supply from the utility,” he added.
.”The KESC is forcing factories to either accept the terms and conditions set by it or face disconnection.”
Bilwani explained that under NEPRA rules, the KESC is not authorised to disconnect supply to industrial units that have no outstanding dues and have duly furnished security charges for power connection besides regularly paying fixed charges to the power utility for availing the power connection as a backup source of electricity.
Taking serious notice of KESC’s power supply disconnection campaign, NEPRA had directed the company on March 12 to restore the supply to the affected factories within three days.
The supply was being disconnected despite the Restraining Order No. TCD 09/805-2012 dated March 05, 2012, issued by NEPRA.
The authority had observed that the KESC, being a service provider, is not authorised by NEPRA to disconnect any power load except in the three conditions according to consumer service manual by NEPRA i.e. “(i) A premises is liable to be disconnected if the consumer is a defaulter in making payment of the energy consumption charges bill, (ii) if he is using the electric connection for a purpose other than for which it was sanctioned and (iii) if he has extended his load beyond the sanctioned load even after receipt of a notice in this respect from the Disco.”
The industrial consumers are neither defaulters, nor have they increased their loads nor do they indulge in any illegal abstraction of power and there being no provision in NEPRA rules to give cover the KESC to sever power in a fourth condition. Both the end user and the KESC are ordered to abide by the CSM.
It is worth mentioning that the KESC has started disconnecting power supply to the industrial units using gas-based captive power plants on the pretext that there is no use of keeping electricity connections at industries where power consumption from the utility’s system is much low or virtually zero.
The company had claimed that at least 200 factories were identified across the city using captive power plants for their electricity needs and they could face disconnection.
