THIS is with reference to the letter ‘KE spoilt Eid’ (April 11). While I agree with the writer that K-Electric (KE) has been a nuisance for its consumers, I would like to add that KE is not alone in this regard.

During Eid holidays, I was in Sujawal, falling under the jurisdiction of Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco), and there was loadshedding lasting 12-14 hours every day.

It is utterly unfortunate that despite the fact that Sindh produces thousands of megawatts of electricity every day and exports it to the national grid, the province continues to suffer extreme loadshedding during these seriously hot summer days.

My district, Thatta, produces around 1,200MW of wind power daily against a total consumption of about 20-25MW across all its villages and towns. And, yet, the people of Thatta are suffering from 10-12 hours of loadshedding every day. Is this not a mystery?

I remember that natural gas was first discovered in Balochistan’s Sui area in the eraly 1950s, and its supply had started to Punjab and Sindh by the mid-1950s. Quetta, despite being the provincial capital, received it more than 15 years later. Today, Sindh is facing the same situation in terms of grid power.

Sindh now produces 1,800MW from Thar coal and 1,200MW from the wind turbines located in Thatta. Yet, the loadshedding hours are only increasing. The government initiative to encourage solar energy is a mere eyewash as Sindh districts are already producing significant amounts of coal and wind energy.

All this energy is directly fed into the central system, which is good. But, in return, the areas that are producing this energy are left in darkness. This is as unfortunate as it is unacceptable.

Nobody has any objection to the sharing of resources, but at the very least, the regions producing energy must be prioritised and should stand to benefit first.

Thar, which contributes 1,800MW of power through coal energy to the grid, remains in darkness most of the time. Why should Thar remain in darkness?

Aijaz Ali Khuwaja
Karachi

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2025