A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Power was held on Wednesday at Parliament House, Islamabad.
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The meeting commenced with an overview of all policies related to guidelines for setting up of IPPs. Secretary Power Division provided the Committees with details regarding policies formulated in 2002, 2006 and 2015. He informed the Committee that a subsidy reform proposal has been approved by the Cabinet and added that this will ensure the equitable distribution of power. It was asserted that line losses and non-recovery are one of the main reasons for increase in Circular Debt.
In a similar context, members inquired about electricity units that are provided free to DISCOs employees. It was also stressed that the reason for line losses is the use of archaic distribution lines and machinery. The Committee asserted that urban and rural territories must be divided to ensure ease of recovery.
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Discussing the Power Purchase Agreement between National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) and K-Electric, the Committee directed that details must be provided to the Committee under Rule 181 of the Rules of Business and Conduct.
While discussing the performance of QESCO, Committee members stressed the need for provision to areas of Jaffarabad, Nasirabad and Gwadar. Member of the Chamber of Commerce Gwadar, who was present in the meeting, shared the plight of Gwadar and the way electricity shortfall and outages were shutting down businesses in Gwadar. He said that the Fish Export facility in Gwadar has been shut due to the closing of 60 ice factories as a result of recurrent power outages in the city.
Chairman Committee, Senator Saifullah Abro directed that CEO QESCO visit Gwadar at the earliest to address the issues and find alternate solutions.
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Taking up the issue of the process of appointments in PESCO the Committee stressed that the report of the sub-Committee constituted earlier on the issue must be submitted on the Committee along with details of the new criterion for hiring and a copy of the advertisement placed in newspapers.
Chaired by Senator Saifullah Abro, the meeting was attended by Senator Fida Muhammad, Senator Syed Shibli Faraz, Senator Saifullah Sarwar Khan Niazi, Senator Zeeshan Khanzada, Senator Prince Ahmed Umer Ahmedzai, Senator Sana Jamali, Senator Haji Hidayatullah Khan, Senator Bahramand Khan Tangi, Senator Hafiz Abdul Karim, Senator Asad Ali Khan Junejo, Senator Ahmed Khan and senior officers from the Power Division, along with all concerned.
