KARACHI, Nov 3: Power breakdowns have started to occur with greater frequency following the advent of Ramazan.

Residents calling from different localities of Karachi told Dawn that the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation had been slow in responding to the complaints lodged by them.

A resident of F.B. Area, Block-18, told Dawn that his locality had lost power supply in the early hours of Monday. “We lost electricity some time before Sehri. I tried to call the centralized complaint centre at 118, but it was engaged. I called the local complaint centre, but nobody answered the phone. I again called 118. This time it was not engaged and a telephone attendant registered my complaint. But, it took the power utility a little less than three hours to attend to my complaint,” he said.

Calling from Phase V of Defence, Khayaban-i-Mujahid, a resident said that his locality had been experiencing power breakdowns with greater frequency. “I often read about model complaint centres in my locality. I do not know why they are called ‘model’, for on Monday we remained without electricity for a couple of hours. Every time, I dialled the complaint centre I was told that my area was experiencing a cable fault which was being repaired. I understand that these cables develop fault on a regular basis. Why do KESC technicians take so long to repair the faults they fix on a regular basis?” he wondered.

A resident of North Karachi, Sector 11-A, said that in his locality power breakdowns were accompanied by voltage swings. “These voltage swings cause electronic equipment, such as VCR and computer, to break down. On Monday, we had a couple of brief power breakdowns. I fear that one of these days the voltage swings will adversely affect the performance of the electronic equipment I have,” he said.

Another resident of the same locality said that his locality had at least four power breakdowns.

Other areas that experienced power breakdowns included Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Clifton, North Nazimabad, Lyari and Nazimabad.