MPAs decry hours-long power cuts in Karachi despite start of winter

Concerned members of the Sindh Assembly belonging to both the opposition and treasury benches have expressed serious concern about continuing hours-long power loadshedding in several parts of Karachi despite the start of the winter season.

The legislators who spoke on this issue are members of the special committee of the Sindh Assembly constituted to look into the affairs of the three power distribution companies in Sindh. The committee held its meeting on Wednesday with PPP MPA Fayyaz Butt in the chair.

The concerned members of the committee said that there was no moral and legal justification for resorting to power loadshedding of up to 14 hours a day in certain areas of the city despite the much-decreased demand for electricity with the advent of winter.

They complained that K-Electric hadn’t been observing rules and regulations set by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority. K-Electric CEO Moonis Abdullah Alvi told the meeting that power loadshedding had been continuing in a number of localities in Karachi where 30 per cent to 40 per cent of its residents hadn’t been paying their electricity bills. He said that areas in Karachi having power consumers who defaulted on electricity bills could face prolonged loadshedding irrespective of the prevailing season. He said the K-Electric resorted to power loadshedding in the city under compelling circumstances as it couldn’t sever the electricity connections of thousands of non-paying power consumers. He told the concerned legislators that the K-Electric staffers in the past had come under violent attacks when they tried to disconnect the electric supply to defaulting power consumers.

Later, talking to media persons, the chairman of the committee said they had directed the officials of the power distribution companies to hold regular meetings with the concerned

legislators.

Leader of Opposition Ali Khurshidi said electricity theft took place in the city in connivance with K-Electric staffers. He said the committee members had warned the K-Electric CEO that concerned people would resort to protests if the power supply situation didn’t normalise in the city. He lamented that the Jamaat-e-Islami MPA didn’t attend the committee’s meeting.