KARACHI: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf on Monday staged a sit-in outside the K-Electric head office to protest against the “atrocities” of the power utility, demanding an end to its monopoly on electricity generation, transmission and distribution and vowed to approach the National Power Regulatory Authority and the apex court against KE.

Leaders and legislators of the ruling party in the centre said the sit-in was the beginning of its campaign against the KE which would continue till the problems being faced by Karachiites were solved.

On the first day of the sit-in, PTI MNAs from Karachi Aftab Siddiqui, Aslam Khan, Aftab Jahangir, Nusrat Wahid and its members of the Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh, Jamal Siddiqui, Dr Saeed Afridi, Raja Azhar, Karim Bux Gabol, Ali Aziz, Rabistan Khan, Shahnawaz Jadoon and others participated and addressed a large number of workers who had converged there.

Ask federal govt to end the power utility’s monopoly

“The KE has turned the city of lights into darkness,” said the PTI’s parliamentary leader in the Sindh Assembly, Haleem Adil Sheikh. “Enough is enough. We can no more allow the KE to ruin this city. This company has become a permanent nuisance for Karachiites. We appeal to the federal government to allow other electric companies to provide electricity to Karachi and bring the monopoly of the KE to an end.”

PTI MNA Aftab Siddiqui said that at several meetings with the KE management it was assured that loadshedding in the city would end by June 28. He reminded the KE management of its promises made during the meeting at the Governor’s House last month.

“But it’s a proven fact now that the KE is not serious in resolving the loadshedding issue. It’s getting 200 megawatts supply from two independent power producers. Every facility, including gas, is being supplied to the KE as per its demand but it is not ready to end the exploitation of Karachi power consumers,” he said.

He said the residents of Karachi were facing overbilling besides the menace of loadshedding. He demanded that the government contract with KE be made public and overbilling be ended immediately.

Mr Siddiqui said the PTI would go to the Supreme Court against KE later this month.

MPA Raja Azhar said that the federal government arranged furnace oil for KE. Then again the KE presented another lame excuse that it had no gas and the power utility was supplied LNG. The KE management then promised at Governor House that it would end loadshedding within 48 hours but no change had been witnessed yet, he said.

“The Karachiites are fed up with persistent loadshedding and excessive billing. We appeal to the federal government to issue tenders before 2023 for inviting other companies to take part in bidding for private electricity sector in Karachi. We believe that the KE should be divided into three companies.

Finding an urgent alternative to the KE is the need of the hour.”

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2020