KARACHI: Frequent breakdowns persist in many areas: City faces 61MW shortfall
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Sept 6: As the weather turned warm, the distribution system of the Karachi Electricity Supply Corporation developed faults, causing frequent disruptions in power supply to various localities.
However, officials claimed that there was no major fault in the system, but there was a shortfall of 61 MW power due to the shutdown of one of the six units in Bin Qasim Power Station for maintenance. The unit would remain closed for 74 days.
The power supply demand was up to 2,100 MW in the city but the utility could only supply 2,039 MW and it resorted to one-hour power loadshedding on rotation basis to meet the shortfall in the demand, the officials added.
The distribution system of the power utility developed numerous faults causing disruptions in power supply intermittently to different localities.
The Federal B Area was the worst affected as it was the target of the KESC throughout the day on Wednesday.
A resident from Block-9 in Federal B Area said the power supply was discontinued to his locality at 6:30am and it was restored after an interval of five hours at 11:30am. The power supply was again disrupted at 12:30pm for two hours and there was another breakdown in the evening for two hours.
An irate citizen, Aleem Qureshi, from Block-14 in Federal B Area said the power played hide-and-seek all the day in his locality and same was the situation in Block-7 where his daughter lived. He said his daughter was suffering from jaundice and intermittent power failures add to her miseries.
Another citizen from Block-17 in Federal B Area said there were seven breakdowns in a day on Wednesday as the KESC played havoc with the lives of citizens. Each time there was a disruption of one to two hours, and it was not clear if it was a fault or load shedding, he added. Similar was the situation in Block-20.
A resident of Block-15 said a three-hour power breakdown occurred early morning and another two-hour breakdown in the afternoon.
A consumer in Block 3, F B Area, said there was a disruption in power at 11:30am and the supply was restored at 5:15pm after an interval of almost six hours.
In Buffer Zone, Sector 15-B, a resident said power supply played hide-and-seek all the day and it made the lives of citizens miserable.
A resident of Jamshed Quarters said the power supply remained off for four to five hours a day and breakdowns have become a routine.
A consumer from Block-4/A in Gulshan-i-Iqbal said the power went off twice a day in his locality spanning more than one hour.
A citizen from Block-18 in Gulistan-i-Jauhar said there was a breakdown at 1pm for an hour and again at 3pm for another an hour.Abbas Naqvi from Billy’s Tower on Rashid Minhas Road said the power supply was suspended for at least three hours in the afternoon. He said power failures and low voltage supply was a routine.
Similar complaints were received from parts of Malir, Khokhrapar and Kausar Town.
