Overcoming problems facing a power generating company in a developing country

The Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) is responsible for the production and distribution of electricity to the city of Karachi. It has a production capacity of 1000 MW and a distribution network of over 6,000 km of cabling (4610 km of over-head mains and 1487 km underground). The KESC in 1983 was facing problems of inadequate power generating capacity, frequent breakdowns of power generation and distribution equipment, excessive overtime payments and high inventory levels. There were also major problems relating to utilisation of vehicles, their maintenance and replacement. An overall assessment was initially carried out for all the above problem areas. This article discusses the issues relating to the faults of the KESC electric distribution network and the resulting complaints. KESC has twelve complaint centres and a centralised complaint cell, all working under a Superintendent Engineer, Complaints. A sample selection of complaints showed that normally there were between 50 and 70 complaints daily at each complaint centre; however in extreme weather conditions, particularly when the temperature exceeded 45°C the number of complaints increased to between 100 and 300 depending upon the severity of conditions.