October 17, 2008	Friday	Shawwal 17, 1429

KARACHI, Oct 16: The Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) is fast moving towards a possible showdown with its consumers over payment of power bills as an increasing number of people and organisations have been making it clear that the 100 per cent rise in the bills is not at all acceptable.

Maintaining that the inflated bills were imposed on them, they argued that while they were being made to endure several hours of load-shedding every single day, the KESC wanted them to pay higher rates.

Dawn has received several telephone calls from domestic power consumers who have received electricity bills with almost a 100 per cent increase, recoverable from September this year. Almost all of them were determined that they were not going to pay the bills. Some of them also blamed the KESC and the ruling coalition, especially in Sindh, for being “sleeping partners in a conspiracy to fleece people”, adding that the conspiracy was bound to undermine the industrial and trading activities in the city.Representatives of small traders and cottage industries have decided to launch a signature campaign on Friday to rally support for a massive movement against the KESC for raising the power tariff and refusing to end the load-shedding.

“Under this signature campaign, we will call upon members of the trading community to stop paying inflated electricity bills until the increase in tariff is withdrawn by the government,” said Mahmood Hamid, president of the All Pakistan Organisation of Small Traders and Cottage Industries, Karachi.

“In effect, (excessive billing) it is a death warrant for small traders… the signature campaign will be launched at a protest demonstration outside the Memon Masjid, Boulton Market, after Jumma prayers,” he said.

He said his organisation would reject any increase in power tariff in future, as reportedly being mooted by the authorities for different peak and off-peak hours. Neither Pepco nor KESC had the gadgets to record power consumption separately in peak and off-peak hours, he added.

Traders have been staging protest rallies on Tariq Road and at printing market against the tariff hike and load-shedding and have expressed their determination to continue the movement until withdrawal of the “unjust” increase and normalisation of power supply.

Meanwhile, in many areas of the city experienced multiple spells of load-shedding during Wednesday night and Thursday as the KESC faced up to a 250 megawatts shortage.

Sources said the KESC was not availing full power supply support from various independent power producers in the city to cut down on its expenses on procuring electricity from these units.

The KESC people have been attributing the problem of recurring power breakdowns to under-capacity supply of electricity from the national grid.

A spokesman for the KESC, however, claimed that the shortfall of electricity on Thursday was just 140 megawatts which caused only one spell of load-shedding of mere one-hour duration.

Meanwhile, the new KESC management led by Naveed Ismail (CEO) met Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad on Thursday.

The governor directed it to take emergency measures to ensure uninterrupted power supply to consumers. He also took notice of complaints of excessive billing, and said the KESC should take steps to provide due relief to its consumers, who were already in difficulties.