Govt to take over KESC if house is not settled, warns Ashraf

ISLAMABAD ( 2009-06-18 20:14:41 ) :Minister for Water and Power Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on Thursday said the government has directed Karachi Electricity Supply Company (KESC) to settle power related issues otherwise the government will nationalize it.
Speaking to a point of order in the Upper House of the Parliament regarding power breakdown in Karachi on Wednesday, he said the breakdown caused due to a storm in Jamshoro area of Sindh which affected 500 KV transmission line resulting in power outage in whole Karachi and other cities of the province.
He said responding to the incident KESC immediately mobilized its teams to repair the transmission lines but due to system constraints the power supply could not be resumed the till Thursday morning.
He informed the House that electricity supply has resumed in certain parts of Karachi, however, the supply to rest of the city will be restored in next few hours.
The Minister said that the Prime Minister, Sindh Chief Minister and he himself remained in touch with KESC regarding the power supply to the residents of Karachi.
Ashraf informed the House that due to system constraints including outlived power supply lines and power shortfall the Sindh province is facing loadshedding.
He said the government has allocated considerable amount for replacement of outlived power supply lines, power generation and other power projects to counter the loadshedding problem.
The Deputy Chairman Senate Jan Jamali asked the Minister to hold separate meetings with Parliamentarians from all the provinces and take them into confidence regarding power problems and projects.
Earlier, Raza Rabbani on a point of order said that Karachi was without power supply from last night and KESC failed to restore the power supply. Senator Tahir Hussain Mashhadi also said that the House should be taken into confidence on the issue.