Syed Moonis Abdullah Alvi, CEO of KE stated in their annual report that, “It is imperative that we continue to
learn from the past and look to the future.” KE having distribution power of around 3.2 million customers, with
the responsibility of delivering power spread across a service area of 6,500 square kilometers, KE’s distribution
business continued to evolve during FY 2021.
The Project Sarbulandi helping 5 million people
KE faced the challenges of electricity provision majorly in Karachi as 40% of Karachi is unplanned and there
was a rampant power theft and majority of the residents have low income, having low willingness to pay.
KARACHI: The K-Electric has said that it has launched the
‘Sarbulandi’ initiative of Rs10 billion investment in power distribution
infrastructure for those parts of the city that suffer the menace of
power theft. (Published in Down, 18th Nov 2020)
KE initiated “Sarbulandi” as an initiative to over this challenge, within the one year the project successfully
reduced the power supply issue in areas like Korangi, Landhi, Liaquatabad, Surjani, Orangi and Nazimabad by
an average of 2.5 to 4.6 hours a day. With the initiative of Sarbulandi project over 5 million people experienced
its benefits through its different activities and campaigns including installation of water filtration plants, school
and park renovations, equipment donations (computers, books) etc. They also derived door to door campaign
under this Sarbulandi project for spreading awareness regarding energy saving. The project team approached
residential consumers located in areas including Malir district, sharing the importance of on the importance energy
consumption patterns of various electrical home appliances and identifying potential energy savings pockets.
Moreover, under the project of Sarbulandi around 47 camps were installed that treated over 8500 people, over 5 water
filtration plants were operated which served more than 20,000 people for clean water facility. With this project over 40
women were given training given title of “Roshni Baji” ambassadors of program, these Roshni Baji’s reached more then
107,00 households and verified 70% account in just five months. Through this awareness raising, communities are
becoming less vulnerable to electrocution during high monsoon rainfall, urban flooding, and other disasters.
2021- The year of Resilience to Covid-19 Challenges
Chairman of the company considered 2021 as a year of resilience and recovery faced in Covid-19’s challenges
and volatility. In order to manage the power demand in Summer 2021, KE in collaboration with National
Transmission & Distribution Company (NTDC) implemented rehabilitation work on KDA-Jamshoro circuit
implementation of cross-trip scheme was completed, which enabled KE to off-take additional power of 450-600
MW from the National Grid. With the cooperation of the Ministry of Energy (Power Division) and NTDC, and
in compliance with NEPRA requirements, KE solved power shortages during the summer of 2021 by receiving
additional power from the National Grid and using Combined Cycle KCCP on HSD when gas was scarce. They
paid for the increased power and used Tariff Differential Claims to cover the remaining costs. Supplementing the
loss reduction and network and safety enhancement initiatives, the Company has introduced Advanced Metering
Infrastructure (AMI) and has installed smart meters at the PMT and large industrial consumer level to improve energy
management.
Over the year around 26600 kg of illegal connections “Kunda” were successfully removed from different areas
with the help of Sarbulandi Project initiated. Furthermore, based on experiences from the 2020 monsoon season,
targeted measures were made to increase distribution network resilience in areas prone to water penetration.
Approximately 22 substations and associated equipment were lifted, while 113 were renovated. Phase I was
already 98% completed, and the project was scheduled to be finished by the second quarter of FY 2022.
Deployment of AMI and ABL for reducing “Kunda” theft
Along with contributing to loss reduction and network and safety enhancement measures, the Company has
implemented Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and deployed smart meters at the PMT and big industrial
consumer levels to better energy management. Further to reduce Kunda Culture (Illegal connections) KE
initiated loss reduction initiatives and installed Aerial Bundled Cables in Karachi to eliminate Kunda culture
and promote network health among bill-paying customers.11000 pole-mounted transformers were converted to
ABCs. This programmed improved power supply reliability and reduced losses, resulting in better livelihoods,
education, health, and overall quality of life. The annual report of year 2021 reflects 16.7% reduction in
transmission and distribution losses.
With targeted recovery initiatives, KE’s recovery ratio improved from 92.1% in FY 2020 to 94.9% in FY 2021.
This was possible due to their active recovery schemes like the ‘Azaadi’ rebate scheme initiated in FY 2021
which was followed by the ‘Qadam Barhao’ campaign. These campaigns were aimed at empowering the
consumers, mitigating theft, and promoting timely bill payment through easy instalment plans and strict actions
of disconnection. KE revamped its distribution network to improve safety, dependability, environmental
resilience, electricity quality, and losses. International Consultancy Services road map was created (2023-2030)
that reflected network design, standards, specifications, processes, asset management, and technology.
Acqusition by Shanghai Electric Power
In October 2016, Shanghai Electric Power (SEP) agreed on Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with KES
Power Limited to buy up to 66.4% of the company's shares. But that agreement wasn’t established as the terms
were not completed and the deal remained unlocked without approvals of government and other terms and
conditions. Even after a break and delay, SEP still wanted to buy the shares with which they made a new
announcement regarding this agreement on March 31, 2021. SEP planned to invest in the whole power system,
from making power to delivering it. If they could have bought most of KES Power Limited, it would have
changed how power worked in Karachi and brought new technology to Pakistan's power industry.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1591020
https://www.brecorder.com/news/40301080/imfs-11bn-tranche-to-help-pakistans-economic-stability-says-pm-
shehbaz-sharif
https://www.ke.com.pk/download/financial-data/KE-Annual-Report-2021.pdf
https://www.brecorder.com/news/40033264
https://www.dawn.com/news/1620240/for-k-electric-fault-lines-and-an-elusive-deal
https://www.dawn.com/news/1620240/for-k-electric-fault-lines-and-an-elusive-deal
