Ultimatum for KE as governor, federal minister discuss power crisis

Sindh Governor Imran Ismail on Wednesday met Federal Energy Minister Hammad Azhar and discussed the persisting issue of prolonged and unannounced power outages during the peak summer in Karachi.

A handout issued by the Governor House said the meeting held in Islamabad on the issue of the persisting power crisis in the city was also attended by the federal secretaries for energy and finance.

The governor reiterated his directive to the K-Electric (KE) to ensure an uninterrupted power supply to Karachi. The meeting issued the warning that the federal government would be left with no option but to take an extreme step in case the lives of the people of Karachi continued to remain disturbed due to the prolonged power cuts.

The governor mentioned that the energy minister had decided to supply 400 megawatts more electricity to the KE’s system from the national grid. The meeting gave a 10-day ultimatum to the KE to overcome the power crisis in the city by improving the electricity supply system.

On Tuesday, the Jamaat-e-Islami’s Karachi chapter had set a three-day deadline for the K-Electric over prolonged power outages in the city amid the ongoing extreme weather conditions.

“After the deadline, in case the KE fails to rectify its mistake, protests across the city will be held under a coordinated protest drive against the nexus of the government, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, and the KE,” warned JI Karachi chief Hafiz Naeem Ur Rehman, while addressing a press conference at Idara-e-Noor Haq.