Sindh Minister for Energy, Planning and Development Syed Nasir Hussain Shah has said that providing affordable electricity to the business community and the public is the vision of President Asif Ali Zardari and Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, with the full support and efforts of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah.
Speaking as the chief guest at the “Multi-Stakeholders Conference on Competitive Electric Market in Pakistan” organized by the Pakistan Business Forum at a local hotel, he said that the Sindh Transmission and Dispatch Company (STDC) and the Sindh Electric Power Regulatory Authority (SEPRA) will play a pivotal role in supplying affordable electricity.
He added that under SEPRA, electricity supplied to Karachi’s industries and residential consumers will be much cheaper than the rates charged by K-Electric. This electricity will be generated in Sindh and transmitted through STDC, with tariffs set independently by the Sindh government rather than linked to NEPRA’s rates. Nasir Hussain Shah stated that staff recruitment for SEPRA has been completed and its notification will be issued within the current month. The primary focus is on economic zones, and the aim is to provide the first SEPRA-supplied electricity to the K-IV project’s grid. He said that the Sindh Assembly has given constitutional approval to SEPRA and that citizens of Karachi will also benefit from this system, provided that the transmission network remains with STDC.
The provincial minister called this a major good news for citizens burdened by expensive electricity, as the establishment of hybrid parks will lead to reduced power tariffs. Sindh is working on resolving energy issues by adopting models from other countries. He further said that the issue of high capacity charges of Independent Power Producers (IPPs) can be resolved by establishing more industries, because while payments must be made, economic growth should also occur. Several IPP agreements have already been reviewed and more will be in the future, bringing relief to common consumers.
Nasir Hussain Shah also noted that there is currently no representation of Sindh in K-Electric’s board, with three directors from the federal government. “We have asked the federal government to have one representative from the federation and the remaining two from Sindh,” he said. The Sindh government has signed an agreement with K-Electric to provide affordable electricity through solar parks and has asked K-Electric not to purchase costly fuel-based electricity when solar power is available.
