KE overbilling people to pay back loans, claims former chairman

The K-Electric, the sole power utility in Karachi, has been charging excessive bills to pay back its loans, said the company's former chairman Ikram Sehgal.

Loans have to be returned on high-interest rates, he told SAMAA TV on Monday. KE has been spending money to set up power plants. This is a conflict of interest. It is responsible for the distribution of power and not its production. There is a reason why it has a debt of Rs1.5 billion, he claimed.

He said that the Hub power plant and Lucky power plant can provide power to the city. "KE should be spending its funds on improving its lines and power distribution system."

The KE CEO is not "qualified" to run a big utility company as he doesn't have much technical knowledge, he added.

Sehgal stepped down as the KE chairman on November 6, 2019.

— An earlier version of the story erroneously mentioned Ikram Sehgal as the former KE CEO. The error is regretted and has been rectified.