Pakistan (Muhammad Yasir)
President Federal B Area Trade and Industry Syed Raza Hussain
said the government should provide a subsidized electricity tariff to
Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) of the commercial capital
Karachi to revive economic activity at an accelerated pace.
Speaking in a meeting with a delegation of K-Electric officials,
President FBATI said the government should treat the traders of
Karachi at par with the rest of the country by facilitating them with
the subsidized cost of electric units, mainly to SMEs.
He added the government had allocated subsidized quotas for the
export-oriented sectors in different cities of the country besides
Karachi, depriving businessmen of their right to equal treatment,
which cost them severe losses.
President FBATI also emphasized that the government should resolve the
long-awaited matter of industrialists of Karachi, passing on the
benefit of incremental units’ electricity consumption to industrial
consumers.
Industries in Karachi neither received subsidy on account of the
incremental unit consumption of electricity last year nor this year
but this particular relief has been provided to industrialists in
different cities of the country, he remarked.
He mentioned that industries and utility companies, mainly electricity
distribution and generation companies, should foster relationships to
ensure uninterrupted power supplies to industrial zones, including the
area under FBATI.
He urged the KE delegation to resolve issues of the industrial units
regarding load enhancement in collaboration with the association and
its members for a smooth supply of electricity to industrial units to
ensure their uninterrupted production.
Fawad Gillani, Chief Distribution Officer at K-Electric, said the
power utility is transforming its system into a customer-centric
organization with a proper mechanism to address the company’s issues,
mainly the industrial customers, to resolve their issues on a priority
basis.
He further mentioned that K-Electric is working proactively to provide
new connections to industrial customers through a one-window system
requirement to submit limited documentation for legal compliance.
He lauded the role of associations for supporting the power utility in
removing the illegal connections of the residential areas and shanty
towns through active drives, adding that the high cost of electricity
is one of the reasons for increasing electricity theft in the city.
Masoor Alvi, Chairman Sub-Committee on Utilities- FBATI, said the
industrial activity in Karachi witnessed a slight sustainability in
the past two months, which is a good omen for the economy, but
uncertainty remains prevailing.
He mentioned that the industrial activity and expansion witnessed in
the commercial capital for the past two months after a very long time,
but this expansion did not continue due to various reasons on
political and economic fronts.
He appreciated the role of K-Electric in addressing the issues of
industrial customers with a marked improvement in the supply system.
