ISLAMABAD - National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has decided to issue show cause notice to the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) over not generating power fully and declined to approve 45 paisa per unit hike in the price of power sought by the power utility under head monthly fuel price adjustment.
A hearing held in the premises of the regulatory authority (NEPRA) under vice chairman Khawaja Muhammad Naeem over the application of the KESC to take a decision over  a plea of the KESC, seeking  45 paisa power tariff hike on account of fuel price cost adjustment. The regulatory authority has further declared that the power firm had violated the agreement but obtained electricity from NTDC at low rates.  And, had also sought a report over the use of power generation capacity by the KESC during the last six months, and how much gigawatts capacity of power plants of the KESC was utilised.
“The KESC had not gotten ideal full power from its IPPs during the month of October so the NEPRA has decided to issue show cause notice the private power utility (KESC) since it is the violation of concerned rules and regulations and is also creating national  power crisis, which is not acceptable at any cost,” said vice chairman during the hearing,” The KESC had committed violation of agreement which the power company had inked with NTDC (National Transmission and Dispatch Company) in the past under which the power company is obtaining electricity on low rates.”The KESC had generated 1.414 billion units of power in October and sold to its consumers. Additional fuel cost faced by the KESC was around Rs670 million and 70lakh.
But the regulator has declined to recover the additional fuel price from the helpless consumers on account of monthly fuel price adjustment. During the course of hearing the vice chairman further said that the KESC did not get full power from two IPPs named as Gul Ahmad and Tapal and also advised the concerned team to place a request before the honourable court to take a decision as soon as possible over a stay order under which the NTDC was supplying 650mw to the KESC on low rates but the consumers are being charged at high power tariff.
Official sources while talking told that the plant sector capacity of Gul Ahmad was registered at 55.81 per cent while Tapal plant sector power generation remained at 87.94 per cent in the month of October 2013. They also said that these two IPPs could generate more power but the KESC did not fully utilise full power capacity of the above mentioned IPPs.