KE claims supply from national grid reduced
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KARACHI: Karachiites could face power outages more than they suffered every day in the name of loadshedding, and those living in exempted areas could also undergo the same under a load management plan announced by K-Electric (KE) on Monday.
The power company blamed the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) for a reduced supply since Sept 29.
In a statement, the power utility said that it was facing a 250MW shortfall in supply from the national grid that could lead to power outages in some city areas at a time of rising temperatures.
“The national grid’s 500kV Hubco-NKI line has been under forced outage since Sept 29 due to which there is an unforeseen reduction [of] up to 250MW power supply from the national grid to the K-Electric system,” it said.
“K-Electric is making all possible efforts to manage the power shortfall created due to this situation in light of the rising temperatures following rain and compounded by the insignificant power supply from [the] 150MW wind corridor of the national grid due to low wind factor.”
KE claimed to be in close coordination with NTDC officials to minimise disruption to power supply and ensure the fastest possible resolution to this issue.
“The reduced supply from the NTDC, albeit temporarily, may necessitate brief spells of load management including in exempted areas,” said the statement.
“We have informed our valued customers of the situation through SMS and thank them for their patience and understanding during this time. As soon as the NTDC’s maintenance work is completed, [the] power supply situation should be normalised across the city. We shall keep our customers informed about the developments and regret the inconvenience caused.”
Sources in the NTDC said that a technical fault in the system of one of the Hubco-NKI lines had led to the recent situation, but showed confidence that it would not take time to be resolved.
The teams of the NTDC and associated with the private power producing company which had actually been facing technical fault were working to fix the problem, they said.
Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2019
