Karachi, June 26th, 2020: In the K-Electric Board Meeting held on June 25, the Board expressed serious concerns about the inconvenience suffered by KE’s valued customers due to frequent power outages resulting from KE’s inability to procure adequate fuel stock.
The meeting was chaired by Mr. Riyadh S. A. A. Edrees, with other Board members and KE’s Management in attendance. Amongst other matters, the Board laid special emphasis on the recent power disruptions in Karachi. KE management briefed the Board about the furnace oil and gas shortages in the country and unavailability of adequate fuel to KE severely impacting its power generation. It was also clarified that this shortage is at the national level shortage and that KE was not the only company affected. While the Board appreciated the Federal Government’s commitment to resolve the issue and to allow furnace oil imports, they also urged KE Management to further expand their efforts with the fuel suppliers and relevant government entities for earliest continuation of fuel supply to KE in order to provide immediate due relief to its valued customers. On behalf of KE’s customers and its management, the Board also appealed for relevant authorities’ urgent attention to this matter, and expressed hope that this situation would be fully resolved in the next 4-5 days.
Amongst other matters, the Management also apprised the Board about KE’s proactive measures to manage the expected surge in power demand during peak summer. At the same time, the Management also highlighted that the chronic issue of mounting receivables and resultant strain on cash flow could potentially impact completion timelines of KE’s upcoming projects and future investment plan.
The Board was pleased to receive an update from the CEO on KE’s robust preparations for public safety during the upcoming Monsoon season, which included an extensive campaign for removal of illegal large-scale kunda wire, internet and TV Cables and illegal street lights that threaten public safety across the city. The Board reiterated that public safety is a collective responsibility with great onus on city administration and highlighted the need to address urban flooding to avoid any unfortunate incidents and threats to public safety.