Centre to resolve Karachi’s power crisis, Leghari tells Sindh CM

LAHORE: Federal Minister for Power Awais Leghari has assured Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah that the federal government is fully committed to resolving power crisis in Karachi.

In his second letter to the Sindh CM, he said that the “federal government has taken various measures to provide relief to the residents of Karachi, including the convening of multiple meetings between stakeholders for deciding urgent steps to be taken.”

Leghari said: “As far as the question of outstanding payables of Karachi Water and Sanitation Board is concerned, it may be noted that KWSB is the responsibility of the Sindh government under the 18th Amendment and this responsibility cannot be overridden by any contractual agreement.”

He stressed that provincial government entities, including the KWSB, are also important stakeholders who cannot shirk their responsibility of paying for electric power services, being provided to them.

“The resolution of issues therefore also involves an element of recognition and redress of provincial government department defaults,” he wrote, adding “I, therefore, urge you to treat this as an issue of national importance which the residents, businesses, and industry of one of the most important cities of the country are at stake."

For the last few weeks, Karachi has been facing severe loadshedding after K-Electric said the Sui Southern Gas Company had curbed supply and it was thus unable to produce the required amount of power. The gas company claims KE owes it millions in dues and will restore supply once the payments are made.

The residents bear the brunt of the tug-of-war as prolonged power cuts have continued to plague Karachi, with previously exempted areas being subjected to six hours of loadshedding every day.