KARACHI: KESC system collapses as mercury shoots up
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, April 27: As mercury stood at 42 degrees Centigrade on Sunday, the ill-maintained transmission and distribution system of the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation collapsed in many city areas.
Residents of different localities complained about frequent power breakdowns in their areas, and said that the KESC centres did not pay heed to their complaints.
A caller from PECHS, Block 6, said: “We have prolonged power breakdowns almost on a daily basis. While some power breakdowns are reported in the press, some are not. Even if power breakdowns are not reported in the press, I am sure that the top-ranking officials of the power utility are aware of the quantum of power complaints this summer. Why are they doing nothing to stop this,” he wondered.
Residents of North Nazimabad, Block J, complained that their locality remains in the grip of power breakdowns every day.
Apart from Block J of North Nazimabad, Block A also faces prolonged power breakdowns. Even on Saturday, both blocks had prolonged power cuts, they added.
A KESC consumer from Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Block 16-A, said he had a power cut around 9.30pm. “Gulistan-i-Jauhar is a comparatively new locality. One thought that the KESC would have made proper arrangements for the locality which has a large number of highrise apartments. But no, even this new locality must have frequent power breakdowns because the KESC officials cannot run a new system properly.”
Raza Haider, a resident of Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Block 6, said that he had been awakened by a sudden power breakdown the previous night.
“I cannot sleep without electricity. I opened the window of my house and realized that the entire area was plunged into darkness. Our power supply was restored at five o’clock in the morning.”
A resident of North Nazimabad, Block L, said the previous night they had experienced a power shutdown from 9pm to 11pm. “We tried to contact the complaint centre of our area, but telephones at the complaint centre were either busy all the time or were not answered,” he said.
A resident of Saddar told Dawn that his area had faced multiple but brief power shutdowns on Sunday.
A resident of North Karachi, Sector 11-B, told Dawn his locality also faced power shutdowns the previous night. “My regional complaint centre tells me that power closures occur due to overloading. If that is the case, they should check it and do something about it. How long will we have to face power shutdowns for no fault of ours?” he wondered.
Meanwhile, the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation has a plan to install a large number of energy meters on pole mounted transformers (PMTs) and outside the premises of industrial units in the city from June 1, 2003, to check power theft.
A senior official of KESC told APP here Sunday that installation of energy meters is subjected to the approval by KESC board of directors.
The corporation has a plan to install energy meters on 8,000 PMTs all over the city. KESC has a total 8,395 PMTs in the city, 498 of them are over-loaded.
Similarly, KESC will install energy meters outside the premises of 30,000 small industrial units and 5,000 large industrial concerns in the city for the same purpose.
“The KESC will complete this task within 10 months. We have procured 35,000 meters for this purpose and the installation will begin soon after the approval of KESC board of directors”, the official said.
