‘Bankrupt’ Pakistan grid adds to PM’s economic quandary

Bloomberg

In Pakistan’s Tharpakar desert, Chinese and Pakistani workers toil in the blistering heat to complete the construction of a massive open pit coal mine and an adjacent 660 megawatt power plant four months before schedule.
When Engro, one of Pakistan’s largest conglomerates, which is partnering with China, begins generating electricity from the plant in December it will hit a distribution and transmission network that is essentially “bankrupt,” according to Shamsuddin Shaikh, CEO of Engro’s energy arm.
“The system has already collapsed, really the system is just existing because the government every few months will churn out some money, dole out some money and the system keeps on working,” Shaikh said.
Pakistan has added half of its power generating capacity in the past five years with Chinese help but a weak distribution network means companies and households are still bereft of electricity.
PM Imran Khan faced immediate complaints after he was elected premier by lawmakers last month when the nation’s largest city Karachi was hit by an all-night blackout.