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LAHORE, May 3: Wapda’s failure to utilize its installed power generation capacity during 2000-2001 resulted in a loss of Rs54.87 billion at current purchase prices.
Significance of the mismanagement, possibly corruption, to the authority can be best appreciated in the backdrop of its Rs26.03 billion deficit for the current year.
The practice is likely to continue and, according to Wapda’s own estimates, lead to a Rs46 billion deficit this year.
HYDEL GENERATION: According to Wapda’s Annual Report 2000- 2001, hydel power generation for the year stood at 17.19 billion units, representing utilization of an average of nearly 2,000 MW out of an installed capacity of 5,010 MW.
The authority has been blaming drought conditions for the decline in hydel power generation. Its report, however, does not fully justify the decline in power generation over the last few years. During 1997-98, for example, Wapda released 4.36 million acre feet water from the Mangla lake and generated 6.1 billion units. In 2000-01, it released 4.13 MAF to generate merely 2.79 billion units. This represents a 54 per cent reduction in power generation for a 5 per cent drop in water availability.
The pattern at Tarbela was also similar. In 1999-2000, 8.708 MAF water was released to produce 14.747 billion units. In 2000- 2001, 8.689 MAF water was released and only 12.811 billion units generated — this represented a 13 per cent decline in power generation for a 0.22 per cent reduction in water.
A hydel unit costs Wapda around 70 paisas. Its replacement, a purchase from the independent power producers costs an average of Rs4.67 per unit. The loss of nearly 5.246 billion hydel units, therefore, amounted to an additional cost of Rs20.83 billion.
THERMAL GENERATION: Wapda also has an installed capacity of 4,921 MW thermal power. It generated only 16.77 billion units during the year, an average utilization of around 1.925 MW.
According to international standards up to 10 per cent of installed capacity, 490 MW in Wapda’s case, could be unavailable on account of repair and maintenance. Another 10 per cent reduction could be attributed to “derated capacity” on account of continuous use of machinery.
Generation losses beyond 20 per cent are considered professionally as criminal negligence. But allowing the 20 per cent reduction should still leave Wapda with a generation capacity of 3,941 MW. Utilization of just 1,925 MW thus represents an unexplained deficit of around 2,016 MW or 17.28 billion units per annum.
According to a Wapda member (Power) Asghar Ali Randhawa, Wapda’s own thermal generation costs it around Rs2.70 per unit. Each unnecessary purchase from independent power producers (IPP) at an average of Rs4.67 units is an additional cost Rs2.06 per unit. For the 17.28 billion units not generated by Wapda during the year, the loss came to Rs34.04 billion.
CAUSES: Asked to explain the under-utilization of capacity, a former Wapda member (Power) said: “It is because generating units have gone out of operation one after another for want of repair and routine maintenance. The problem started when the army-led management decided to strip the chief engineers of their authority to sanction repair work. No doubt there had been allegations of corruption under the previous rules, but it allowed the CEs to keep the machines in efficient working order.”
He said the army-led management had an anti-corruption focus. As such, it trusted no one. All kinds of local autonomy, so vital for efficient maintenance, was eliminated. In the generation context this meant taking away both fiscal and administrative powers of the chief engineers concerned. Disbelieved and harassed for demanding funds for repairs, they took to performing their duties in perfunctory manner, keeping quiet for fear of being labelled corrupt, sometimes even when urgent repairs were warranted.
Progressively, he said, the authority has reached a stage where most of its hydel as well as thermal generating units are out of order.
