USAID assisted project to reduce losses of Pesco on cards: CEO Wali Says Disco facing Rs1b loss due to annual line losses

Posted on 1 years ago

PESHAWAR (APP): Chief Executive Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) Muhammad Wali Tuesday said that the company was all set to launch a project with the collaboration of the USAID for reducing technical losses of the company.
In an informal talks with the local newsmen here at Wapda House, the CEO Pesco said "we are in talks with the high ups of the USAID to this effect and the project is likely to start from next year."
Under the project, new insulated cables would be laid down to get rid of the menace of direct hooks (Kunda Culutre), installation of latest meters and construction of small feeders is also part of the same project to end the curse of power threft. These measures would bring down the ratio of technical losses to a great extent, he added. About the energy summit in Islamabad, Muhammad Wali said, we have prepared our recommendations which will be presented for final approval in the said summit with main focus on energy conservation.
Immediate and short term measures were required to be taken to overcome energy crises in the country, he explained. It is not the matter of price but of enhancing power generation capacity to meet the demand and supply gap which rose to 7000 MW plus in peak hours.
To a question, he said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was getting its 16 percent share from the total power generation nowadays.
The total demand of the KP was 2700 MW while its power generation today was around 600 to 700 MW.
The thermal power generation reaches to its lowest in these days due to non availability of water in the rivers.
He informed that 35 high power transformers of 20/26 capacity have been installed in the provided during last three years that enhanced the power generation capacity by 30 percent.
This year we have planned to install 20 more high power transformers in the grid stations. The Pesco was faced with 37 percent line losses annually meaning thereby one percent means Rs.1 billion losses, he explained. He did not agree with a questioner that recovery process of the Pesco decreased saying, it increased in 92 percent in 2011-12. The KP government owed Rs.1 billion to the Pesco.
He further told that the Pesco completed Rs.1058 millions projects in 2011-12 and Rs.858 million schemes will be completed in 2012-13. Total receivables stood at Rs.46146.7 million including Rs.4741 million from federal government, Rs.1027 million from KP and Rs.40377 million from private sector. The Pesco generated Rs.836 million an average from monthly billing from government consumers, and Rs.4751 million from private consumers.
The Pesco lodged 20658 FIRs against power stealers in the province in various drives against electricity theft from July-December 2012. About the high loss feeders, he said, the losses on 92 feeders was above 30-40 percent, 88 feeders incurring 40-50 percent losses and 150 feeders causing above 50 percent losses.
The Pesco provided 51605 meters during July-December 2011 to the consumers and replaced 42254 defective meters during the said period.
The Pesco has 704 feeders of 11 KV and two number of 33 KV feeders. It has 87 grid stations across the KP of which only one is 500 KVA, three of 220 KVA, 60 of 132 KVA, 18 of 66 KVA and five of 33KVA.

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