KARACHI: Load-shedding continues to disrupt trade activities
By Our Reporter
KARACHI, May 18: A day after the KESC chief executive officer sounded an alarm asking Karachians to be prepared for persisting power cuts for at least half a decade, citizens experienced yet another day of massive load-shedding on Friday with businessman community holding the utility responsible for the devastating disruption in industrial and business activities.
Load-shedding was aimed at meeting over 300MW shortfall for which the utility resorted to power cuts for at least two hours in each cycle several times on Friday. The practice has been causing immense hardship to the students appearing in examinations, as well as traders, industrialists, housewives and workers.
It was stated that power demand had surged beyond 2,300MW while the KESC’s own generation capacity stood at 900MW.
Five of the six units at the Bin Qasim Power Station remained operative, though at much below the installed capacity. Not a single area of the city was immune to the load-shedding but the utility bosses appeared not even apologetic.
After the press conference of KESC’s CEO, the small traders have declared not to abide by the energy conservation plan of the government and threatened not to pay they utility’s bills and taxes. Their contention was that KESC had ruined their business and had no moral high ground to send us bills. “No electricity, no bills” was the comment of the President of All Pakistan Small Traders and industry organization.
The President of Karachi Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Majyd Aziz, was furious and asked the KESC chief to let the people know for how many hours it can provide electricity to this city.
He said for several hours there was no electricity in the KCCI and generators were running. Old people were stuck up because the lift could not operate due to lack of adequate power.
He said the KESC by design was trying to ruin business and industrial activity in Karachi. He demanded that the agreement between Privatisation Commission and its foreign stake holders and the agreement between the KESC and Siemens should be made public so that people could get to know why this utility was sold at a throw away price and what Siemens was doing for systems improvement.
The KCCI chief was also critical of the KESC’s decision to quietly lower its 11kV systems to 10kV, thus providing about 170 volts instead of 220. He said this was being done on the advice of Siemens and the people were justified in claiming damages for widespread loss to electrical appliances cause by the tripping of overloaded distribution system.
Meanwhile, frantic telephone calls from across the city had one and almost similar complaints: “We don’t have electricity for several hours, why the KESC should be paid the bill.”
