Govt moves to replace under-fire KE boss
The government has constituted a special committee to act as one-window operation for KElectric and sought removal of the top leadership of the power utility over its alleged inability to ensure uninterrupted power supply and address disruptions within reasonable time after recent rains.
Highly placed sources said the government members on the K-Electric board of directors had pushed for the replacement of Chief Executive Officer Moonis Alvi and head of the distribution department with highly motivated professionals who could respond to difficult situations and ensure efficient service delivery. "The existing team did not take timely action," an official said.
"All those responsible for the ongoing crisis and recent loss of lives should be taken to task and heads should roll," said an official, adding that power division and ministry of energy believed that responsibility should be fixed in the matter of KE as well on the pattern of distribution companies where CEOs are removed for non-performance.
The sources said the government had also separately taken up this demand with the chairman of the board. Asked as to how the board responded to the government demand for replacement of CEO and head of distribution, the official said things would slowly move towards that direction as a special committee would follow up.
The official said the board "endorsed all decisions taken earlier at a meeting presided over by federal Minister for Energy Omar Ayub Khan" and a fourmember committee had been constituted as directed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Led by additional secretary for power Waseem Mukhtar, the committee comprised additional finance secretary Ahmad Mujtaba Memon, Chaudhry Khaqan Sadullah Khan and Rohail Mohammad.
The committee will meet on a weekly basis and review implementation status of various decisions taken by the federal government and the KE board. Separately, the Ministry of Energy on Monday formed another seven-member committee to look into the matter of K-Electric for one-window operation in line with the Supreme Court directives. The committee, headed by Additional Secretary Power Waseem Mukhtar, would consist of Additional Secretary Petroleum and representatives from (Nepra, NTDC, K-Electric, CPPA and Power Division, a news release said.