KARACHI, Sept 5: Angry electricity consumers blocked a road in Pak Colony-Manghopir area for several hours to protest against unannounced load-shedding of long duration by the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation on Wednesday.

In many parts of Lyari, there had been no electricity since Tuesday morning. The protest was part of the mounting public outrage against the electricity corporation that was witnessed on Tuesday when a utility’s vehicle was attacked on Abdullah Haroon Road and a protest demonstration was staged outside the KESC headquarters. Enraged consumers also surrounded the power utility’s complaint centres in Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Garden, Nazimabad, North Nazimabad, Baldia and other areas.

Angry consumers from different parts of the city complained that they had been subjected to prolonged power outage for the last two days and all their attempts to draw attention of KESC officials had fallen on deaf ears. They said no one was responding from the much publicized helpline on 118. Even when the power was restored, it was for a very brief period with a low voltage, they complained.

Inquiries revealed that clash of vested interest within the utility’s management had become more acute and each of the groups was trying to embarrass the other, even if it had to be done at the cost of public service.

Insiders say the KESC is resorting to long hours of power outage to cut the furnace oil cost, despite getting subsidy from the government. Siemens-led management of the KESC generation and transmission is said to be responsible for this, apparently to run down the distribution network team, headed by the utility’s former chairman Tanzeem Hussain Naqvi. The management is deliberately importing more power from Wapda and private sector at a higher cost, but without any relief to the people, they say.

It may be pointed out that when Siemens men were all powerful in the utility the 11kv distribution system was brought down to 10kv which caused several outages. Now with the change of hands in the distribution network, desired results had not been produced yet.

While the struggle for power and the blame game within the utility continue, there are no signs of implementation on the steps recommended by the committee constituted by the prime minister.