Unannounced power cuts pile misery on consumers

Karachi
Residents in different parts of the city are suffering unannounced and prolonged electricity outages, with many criticising the K-Electric (KE) for not responding to the situation timely.
The KE, whose performance has seen an considerable improvement in the recent years, seems to be struggling this summer to perform its responsibilities.
There is growing apprehension that more misery will be piled on consumers during the upcoming month of Ramazan.
The affected areas include North Nazimabad, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Azizabaad, Malir, Korangi, Surjani Town, Defence, Defence View. New Karachi, Baldia Town, Metroville, SITE, Pak Colony, Qasba Colony and Orangi Town.
Talking to The News at a KE complaint centre in North Nazimabad, a resident, Usama Qadri, said: "The mercury these days remains not less than 40 degrees, and the KE bosses continue to sit in their air-conditioned rooms. What would be the fate of the citizens in Ramazan?"
He asked the Sindh Rangers director general to look into how the KE was working in the largest city of Pakistan.
Qamar Saeed, an engineer, said: “People should rely on their own generators to meet their electricity needs and say goodbye to the KE service.”
Shumaila Arsalan, a housewife who lives in Gulshane-e-Iqbal, told The News on the phone: “Allah hafiz hoga Ramazan mein. How will I prepare sehri and Iftar during Ramazan?”
She demanded serious action against the power utility.
In posh localities of the city, frequent power cuts have compounded their problems as generators and UPS units have gone out of order for running long hours.
Electronic appliances also get affected in the sizzling heat, making life harder for consumers.
Residents in District Central and District East say they have lodged several complaints with the KE, but officials from the other end come up with a typical answer: “Work is in progress. We are unable to tell you when power will be restored.”

Power protests
In several parts of the city, residents took to the streets on Friday to protest against hours-long hours power outages.
They blocked main roads, causing traffic jams. They also chanted slogans against the KE for being indifferent to their plight.
A shopkeeper near Disco Bakery in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Gul Zaman, feared power riots during Ramazan, and demanded of the prime minister to look into the serious electricity crisis in Karachi.

KE explains
Very high loss areas are subjected to power cuts lasting 7.5 hours. In areas where theft and losses are high, tripping occurs due to overloading, especially during the night, according to the spokesman for the power utility.
In other areas, there could be a temporary fault due to which trippings/outages occurred, he added.
“KE teams work round the clock to rectify any such faults/issues. If there is a fault, we have opened up avenues where consumers can approach us with ease and lodge their complaints. “We are trying our level best to remove any fault in the least possible time.”