CEO of K-Electric faces Supreme Court wrath over load shedding in Karachi

KARACHI: Supreme Chief Justice on Saturday took an exception to the Chief Executive of K-Electric over the utility's failure to reduce load shedding.

K-Electric CEO Tayib Tareen and Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO) chief appeared before a Supreme Court bench headed by the CJ in a case pertaining to load shedding.

"Shall we leave the citizens at your mercy,and send them to hell just because you are facing a problem," the CJ said.

The chief justice said he has come to know through media about Karachi's power woes, asking the CEO K-Electric why there was no backup in case of any fault occurs.

The CEO told the court two out of 18 power production units were out of order due to some faults which the company is trying to fix. 

He said the parts required for the repair would come from abroad within two weeks.

He told the court that Karachi's electricity demand stands at 3200 megawatt while his company was producing 2650 megawatts. 

He said the average demand for the electricity is 2900 megawatt.

Addressing the CEO, the chief justice said: " Ramzan is going to start on May 17, what will people of Karachi do in Ramzan? 

They are going to suffer in the extreme heat. This is criminal negligence, why should we take action against you?"

The Chief Justice asked him to provide till May 12  details about the duration of load shedding, the authority which orders the power outages and schedule of the load shedding.

Justice Saqib Nisar also reprimanded HESCO chief for the load shedding in Hyderabad and warned him that electricity connection of his house would be cut and he would not  be allowed to use generator if the load shedding in the city didn't end.