Sweltering heat adds to misery as power outages hit Karachi, Lahore

KARACHI/LAHORE: Power outages continued in Karachi with some areas of the city experiencing seven to 10 hours of load-shedding in the sweltering heat on Friday.

Dalmia, Gulshan-e-Jamal, Abul Hassan Isphani Road, Lasbela, Gulbahar, Liaquatabad, Guru Mandir, Nazimabad, Malir, Saddar, Garden, Soldier Bazaar, Lyari and Kharadar were among the areas facing up to 10 hours of power cuts.

Residents of the areas said they were facing water shortage, with students complaining they were also facing difficulties in taking online classes with the unexpected power cuts. Despite directions from the Power Division of no power outages in the night, the city’s power supplier, K-Electric, continued with intermittent load-shedding. According to sources, KE is being provided with 800 megawatts of power from the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC). Sources added the old delivery system was the main reason behind not enough power being generated and power outages in the city.

“KE is using less furnace oil to create electricity despite being provided with ample amount of gas and oil,” sources said, adding that the closure of two power plants at Bin Qasim was adding to the power outages in the city. In a letter to Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, KE said it was ready to meet with stakeholders to solve the power issues of the metropolis.

“We are ready to meet and talk about the previous investments and plans,” a spokesperson for the power supplier said, adding they would also talk about illegal street lights and cables in the city. The spokesperson added they have been working on a 900 megawatt power plant for the last year, with the unit expected to be functional from 2021. KE started work on the unit as soon as they received the go-ahead from the national grid, he said.

Moreover, the spokesperson said they would apprise the governor about their preparations for the upcoming monsoon season as well.

In Pakistan’s most populated province, Punjab, residents of both big and small towns have been facing a sudden increase in load-shedding as temperatures continue to rise across the country.

According to Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) sources, citizens have been facing unannounced power cuts for the past four days despite the government’s claims of ‘no power outages’.

PEPCO sources said load shedding in the province has increased due to less gas and oil being supplied to power generation companies. “Overall the shortfall has increased due to an increase in the temperature. Because of the heat, most of the grids have been overloaded,” sources said.

In Balochistan, residents have been without power for six to eight hours as temperature hits 40c in some parts of the province.

According to the Quetta Electric Supply Company (QESCO), due to low power supply, there are power outages in the province.

The province is currently facing a shortfall of 600 megawatts against its need of 1,300 megawatts, with feeders only providing six hours of electricity.