LAHORE: The Ministry of Energy has requested that all Discos submit a report on the matter, expressing dismay at the distribution companies’ acquisition of 132kV circuit breakers worth millions of rupees from blacklisted companies via local suppliers.
Dawn has learned that the report was requested in response to written concerns over the purchases made by the engineering associations of Gujranwala Electric Power Company (Gepco) and Multan Electric Power Company (Mepco).
A representative expressed disappointment, saying, “It’s amazing how Discos, particularly Gepco and Multan Electric Power Company, are daring to place purchase orders to the local firms involved in buying circuit breakers and other parts / equipment from the blacklisted firms.”
In a recent correspondence, the Asian Development Bank additionally placed a two-year restriction on a foreign corporation in this regard. Additionally, the same business supplies local businesses with circuit breakers and other necessities after Gepco and Mepco made purchase orders totaling around Rs. 1 billion, the official who asked to remain anonymous said.
He went on to say that Faisalabad Electric Supply Company’s management rejected purchases from local manufacturers who were purportedly involved in purchasing the material from the banned companies when they learned about it.
According to documents that Dawn has access to, the CEOs of every Disco have been instructed by the Power Division to turn in their reports on the subject as soon as possible.
Please find an application from the Gepco and Mepco engineers associations that is self-explanatory, titled Corruption in Gepco Tender No. NCB-23 for supply of 132kV circuit breakers and Mepco tender and corruption in other Discos regarding purchase of 132kV circuit breakers through collusive, coercive and obstructive practices, enclosed with this message. The ministry wrote a letter through the section officer (Disco-II) requesting that the report be provided to this division as soon as possible.
The engineering associations disclosed to the ministry in a letter that the Discos’ officers—particularly those of Gepco and Mepco—broke all previous records of unethical, conspiratorial, coercive, and obstructive behavior in order to bolster the mafia of local suppliers and agents.
“These businesses / agents provide imported gear to discos from a range of international manufacturers. The associations stated that they have close relationships to the procurement departments of the Discos.
They questioned why these Discos were paying higher rates of Rs 10m (each) to enterprises for circuit breakers, which are already accessible from other companies at a significantly lower cost.
The groups said, “We ask [you] to look into this and order all Discos to submit a list of their purchase orders issued to different firms.”
In addition to attaching several documentation evidence to their complaint, the associations wanted to assign a PPRA specialist and a trustworthy officer to serve as inquiry officers and carry out the investigation.
The complaint’s content makes it quite evident that there is corruption at Discos, they claimed.
A foreign company involved in the fraudulent practice of submitting forged compliance test certificates in its proposal for a contract supported under a project is also mentioned in a letter from the ADB’s Office of Anticorruption and Integrity.
“The debarment is for two years starting from 26-05-2023 till 26-05-2025 and extends to all its subsidiaries and branches,” the ADB letter says clearly.
When contacted, a senior ministry official informed Dawn that because the Discos are autonomous and subject to board of directors regulation, the ministry typically stays out of their business issues.
“Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA), [a] state-owned entity mandated to regulate all procurement-related affairs in the public sector, is the recipient of the report that the concerned ministry officers seek and forward,” he stated.
“The ministry may step in and mandate an investigation. However, since the PPRA is [the] body that can look into such anomalies, the corporation can fight it in court,” he said, stressing that the relevant ministry personnel ought to be keeping an eye on this matter.
