A Spokesperson of Ministry of Energy has clarified some misperception with regard to increased load shedding in Karachi by K-Electric which is attributed wrongly to non-availability of fuel by the Federal Government.
The Spokesperson said that the Federal Government is providing 800MW electricity to KE and is ready to provide additional 500 MW from National Grid but the KE system physical constraints are a major hurdle in taking the additional electricity. It clearly indicates that system up-gradation on part of KE has not taken place at the appropriate level and with appropriate investment.
It is worthy to note that Federal Cabinet while keeping in view the general welfare of the people of Karachi has already approved provision of additional 1100 MW from the National Grid to KE. However the KE system is not able to absorb the additional electricity at present and its system up-gradation will go on until 2022-23 to fully take the additional supply.
The supply of LNG is available but on account of Article 158, only a limited quantity of LNG is being taken by KE. SSGC is providing a total of 250 - 290 MMCFD of gas including 75 - 100 MMCFD of LNG.
Meanwhile the Petroleum Division has made arrangements for supply of 80% of Pakistan domestic RFO production to KE to run its power plants. In addition, the Federal Government has also made arrangement for supply of 30,000 tons of RFO from storage of other power plant to immediately fulfill requirements of KE.
The Spokesperson added that the Federal Cabinet also allowed for Pakistan State Oil to float a Gallop International Tender to purchase RFO for KE. The tender has already been published.
The Federal Cabinet also approved provision and allocation of 150 mmcfd of LNG for new power plants of KE, the construction of which will be completed by KE by next year in 2021.
The Spokesperson said that all the above steps clearly indicate that the Federal Government has gone out of it's way to provide support to KE and the people of Karachi besides running the industries and businesses. It is unfortunate to note that KE did not made investment in the system up-gradation and modernization due to which it is facing difficulty at the time of peak demand. The Federal Government is ready to extend all available support for provision of uninterrupted power supply to the residents of Karachi.
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