KARACHI, June 16: Engineers of the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation on Wednesday shuddered with apprehension as the Met Office issued a forecast saying that the city would receive rains in a day or two.
Sources in the KESC said that trippings always occurred during the first rain of the season. "A lot of dust settles on the transmission and distribution system of the KESC. When it rains, the dust particles mix with water and break the insulation of the system, causing many feeders to trip," they explained.
The sources said the problem with rain-related power breakdowns was that they could be repaired only when the rains were over. However, a spokesman for the KESC said that teams of engineers were prepared to tackle rain-related power breakdowns.
Meanwhile, power breakdowns continued to occur in many localities of the city on Wednesday. Residents of Gulshan-i-Iqbal, North Karachi, Federal B. Area, Malir, Baghdadi, North Nazimabad, Defence, PECHS, Clifton and Gulistan-i-Jauhar told Dawn that their localities had suffered loadshedding for more than two hours.
A resident of Nazimabad, Block 4, told Dawn that his locality had been without electricity since 2 o'clock in the afternoon. "It is hard to believe that no one at the KESC is bothered about the fact that a large number of people have been without electricity for more than seven hours.
I have lodged a complaint with my complaint centre. They seem to have done nothing so far," he said. A resident of Federal B Area, Block 12, told Dawn at around 9pm that his area had been without electricity since 6.30pm.
A resident of Adamjee Nagar told Dawn voltage supply in his area had been fluctuating for more than three days. A resident of Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Block 14, told Dawn that his area was worst-hit as far as unannounced loadshedding was concerned.
He said his locality had faced a power shutdown first from 4am to 7.50am and then from 6pm to 7.30pm. When he contacted his regional complaint centre he was told that other blocks of Gulshan-i-Iqbal had also been hit, though partly, by loadshedding.
He added that one drew no satisfaction from the fact that other localities were also facing power breakdowns. He said he wanted to know when his power supply would be restored. A resident of Korangi, Sector 5, told Dawn his locality had been without electricity from 12.15pm to 1.15pm.
