ISLAMABAD:The Senate Standing Committee on Power on Tuesday showed resentment over the non-participation of the Power Minister in the committee meetings.
The minister appeared in TV talk shows but unfortunately could not attend the committee meeting, observed Senator Saifullah Abro while chairing a meeting of the committee.
The committee deferred the “The Pakistan Penal Code (Amendment) Bill, 2022” due to the absence of the minister. The committee decided to consider the bill only if the Minister attends the meeting.
While discussing the pending payment of Circular Debt towards K-Electric, Senator Saifuallah said that at present, the circular debt of the power sector in the country is 2,400 billion.
The committee noted that due to the non-operation of two power plants, the treasury suffered a loss of Rs 42 billion. GENCO Holding Company had to increase the capacity of power plants, instead of capacity building.
The committee lamented that the GENCOs production went down from 7,000 MW to 2100 MW.
While receiving a briefing on the list of Board of Directors (BoDs) of remaining departments working under the Power Division, the chairman committee observed that merit is not observed during the appointment of BoDs members of the power companies. “There should be most capable people in the board, not the people of the market,” the chairman of the committee said.
The meeting was attended by Senators Fida Muhammad, Syed Shibli Faraz, Zeeshan Khanzada, Prince Ahmed Umer Ahmedzai, Sana Jamali, Bahramand Khan Tangi and Haji Hidayatullah Khan. Senior officials from the Ministry and other attached departments were also present in the meeting.