ISLAMABAD: Wapda came under scathing criticism in the Senate on Thursday for its shabby performance as Water and Power Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf hurled a warning that the black sheep in the authority would not be tolerated any more.

Winding up the two-day debate on the energy crisis, the minister apprised the upper house of parliament of factors that led to massive load shedding which, he said, was a direct result of lack of planning during the last nine years to meet the growing energy needs.

He made it clear in response to some demands by senators from the Punjab, who spoke in favour of the Kalabagh dam that no controversial project that might endanger the federation would be implemented.

“There are several sites for building large reservoirs and the government will go for such projects having more significance than any disputed project,” he maintained. The minister promised to turn Wapda into a service-oriented department and that the black sheep would be shunted out and those who tried to make use of its resources for their vested interests would also be shown the door.

He also cautioned that corrupt Wapda employees involved in transformers and power theft, and in adjustment of metres would not be spared. Pervez Ashraf said among other measures, which included short-, medium- and long-term projects, private firms, both local and international, had been asked through open biddings to come forward and invest in power generation.

He said Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani had in his maiden speech called for generation of 2200 MW power and the government was focused on realisation of this announcement. The minister advocated change in the public lifestyle for three months, till August 30, as the energy crisis could deepen in the peak summer season.

“The saving of one unit of electricity means production of 1.2 units,” he noted. Rejecting calls for exemption of his residence from load-shedding, the minister said like other parts of Pakistan, his residence at Gujar Khan and in Islamabad faced power outages.

Pervez Ashraf said there was an acute problem of supply and demand for which a solution should have been found at least three years back: presently there was a shortage of 4,000 MW in the system; 2,500 MW shortage was because of non-availability of enough water.

“Our government will be responsible if we fail to overcome the power crisis and end load shedding in next three years,” he maintained. About financial matters, he said some Rs 170 billion was to be paid to Wapda by various departments and personalities, adding some strategic institutions had been given relaxation in this connection.

Several legislators from both sides of the aisle, during their speeches for the second consecutive day, slammed Wapda and called for putting brakes on its style of a ‘white elephant’. Wapda, he pointed out, made up for massive line losses by resorting to over-billing, whereas power supply to its own employees was free.

Others who took part in the debate were Dr Abdul Malik, Javed Leghari, Salim Saifullah, Ismail Buledi, Ghafoor Haideri, Naeem Hussain Chattha, Mumtaz Hussain, Tahir Mashhaddi, Prof Khurshid Ahmed, Raza M Raza Amjad Abbas, Pari Gul Agha, Abdul Razzaq Thahim, Prof M Ibrahim and Abbas Kumaili. All of them called for relying on massive deposits of coal, water resources for enhancing power generation. Some of them wanted parliament to also share the load-shedding burden.