KARACHI: Cable fault causes power failures in many areas
By Arman Sabir
KARACHI, May 5: Central parts of the city, including Liaquatabad and Nazimabad, remained without power for hours on Friday as an extra high-tension underground cable developed fault.
Besides, residents of various areas complained of power failures during the night between Thursday and Friday, saying that the power supply remained playing hide-and-seek in their respective localities, including Defence, Naziabad block III, Clifton, parts of Nazimabad, North Nazimabad, Liaquatabad, Federal B Area, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Gulistan-i-Jauhar, old city areas, Orangi Town, Korangi, etc.
The high-tension line had leaked oil and the KESC was alerted by the workers at the site of the Liaquatabad underpass where construction work is in progress. KESC engineers and staff turned up and rectified the fault in two-and-a-half hours.
A spokesman for the KESC said that after the repair work, power supply to the affected areas, including Liaquatabad, Nazimabad and parts of Federal B Area, was restored. He denied that the KESC had carried out loadshedding in any of the localities.
The spokesman once again accused the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) of curtailing power supply through the two circuits of Jamshoro to Karachi during night hours. He said that the frequency needed to bring stability in the system was 50 cycles per second, but the same had been lowered by Wapda to 49.2 cycles per second at 9:36pm on Thursday, causing tripping of several KESC grids in Karachi.
He maintained that the fluctuation of frequency could be checked at the control room of the NTDC in Islamabad where all records were maintained.
The spokesman said that the frequency could not be normalised till Friday morning due to which several areas experienced disruption in power supply.
He insisted that the disruption in power supply was caused by the lowering of frequency by Wapda. It must not be termed regarded as breakdowns, he added.
Referring to the Wapda’s claim that it had been supplying 550 to 570 megawatt power to Karachi from Jamshoro over the last couple of days, he clarified that up to 570 megawatt power was being supplied on during peak hours in the evening and during the daytime. After the peak hours in the night, the frequency was lowered and this was causing tripping of grids in the city.
On Thursday, Member Power of Wapda Mohammad Anwar Khalid had told Dawn that the Authority was supplying more than adequate quantum of power to the KESC without any pause. He had maintained that the problem was with the KESC system which needed to be improved.
The Federal Minister for Water and Power Liaquat Jatoi on Thursday told the National Assembly while winding up the debate on frequent loadshedding in Karachi and other parts of the country that the country had surplus electricity, with the power generation having been increased up to 13,000 from 9,000 megawatts since he had taken over the ministry. He also promised to punish Wapda officials if they resorted to an uncalled for suspension in power supply anywhere in the country.
Defending privatisation of the KESC, Mr Jatoi said that he would not allow any intrigue to fail the new management of the corporation. But, he said, the new management would also have to go for expansion in order to meet an estimated eight to nine per cent annual increase in power demand.
