KARACHI, July 17: The Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) may have stopped loadshedding on Wednesday but many areas continued to suffer power breakdowns.

Official sources told Dawn that North Karachi, Landhi, Korangi, Defence, Federal B. Area, New Karachi, Malir, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Clifton, Orangi and Quaidabad had faced prolonged power cuts on Wednesday.

“Some faults were localized which did not affect a large number of people. But some faults occurred due to cable faults which leave many KESC consumers without electricity.”

A KESC spokesman explained that the power utility had carried out loadshedding on Tuesday night from around 9pm to 11pm. “The KESC had no option but to carry out the loadshedding because of a sudden power shortage which was immediately overcome.”

A resident of Clifton, Block 4, told Dawn that power shutdowns did not follow a schedule. “We have power shutdowns in the morning, in the evening and at night — practically any time. I have no idea why we pay taxes to the government that cannot ensure an uninterrupted supply of power.”

A resident of North Nazimabad, Block B, said he had experienced a power shutdown when a strong wind had removed a power connection on the electric pole.

“It took us ages to contact our complaint centre. When we succeeded in lodging our complaints, the KESC vehicle turned up late. The KESC staff took a long time to rectify the fault,” he said.

A resident of Federal B. Area, Block 14, said he had experienced a power shutdown from 2pm to 3.15pm.

In Malir, Phase 2, there had been a power shutdown earlier in the day for more than two hours, a resident told Dawn.

A resident of Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Block 5, said his locality faced a recurring fault — breakdown of one of the three phases. “One power phase keeps breaking down. We lodge our complaints with our complaint centres and with 118. The KESC vehicles do not show up during the day. They come to our places at night.”

A resident of Federal B. Area, Block 20, said his locality had experienced a power shutdown from 4.15pm to 5.15pm.

The Block 21 of Federal B. Area had also been without electricity for more than four hours due to a fault, some residents said.

A resident of PECHS, Block 2, said the previous night his locality had had a power shutdown two times between 10pm and midnight. “We had another power closure earlier in the day,” he added.

A resident of Gulshan-i-Maymar told Dawn that his locality had been without power since morning. He said that when he had contacted the complaint centre of his area he had been told that some underground cable had been burnt.

A resident of North Karachi, Sanober Cottages, said his locality faced intermittent power shutdowns at least two times a day. “Our regional complaint centre has a standard response to power complaints. They say there is a cable fault. But neither a cable fault can be removed in 45 minutes to an hour nor does it occur two times a day punctually. The KESC complaint centres should be truthful about power shutdowns.”