KARACHI, May 22: A power-generating unit of the Korangi Thermal Power Station ceased to work on Monday morning, creating a shortage of up to 100 megawatts and forcing the power utility to resort to load shedding across the city.

Besides, people suffered prolonged power breakdowns in various localities. In Saeedabad and Kalakot, residents staged protests over prolonged power failures and shortage of water.A KESC spokesman said that the age-old power generating unit stopped working in the morning. The KESC engineers and staff were at work to repair the unit but it may take time and it would possibly resume operation by Tuesday.

He said due to the shutdown of one unit, the power utility suffered a shortfall of 87-100 mw which was met by resorting to load shedding of one-and-a-half hour on a rotational basis after the city was divided into four groups.

He said the KESC received up to 580 mw from Wapda through Jamshoro-KDA link while the newly built Hubco-Baldia link was still non-operational.

In Saeedabad, the power supply was suspended on Sunday evening and the residents spent a sleepless night. The power supply could not be restored on Monday morning and people took to streets, staged a sit-in and raised slogans against the KESC for its poor performance.

Similarly, in Kalakot near Cheel Chowk, the residents of Lyari pelted vehicles with stones and blocked a road to express their anger over prolonged suspension of power supply to their locality.

Another prolonged power breakdown occurred in Azam Basti where residents claimed that the supply was suspended at 10:30 am and it was restored at 6:15 pm after a pause of almost eight hours.

A resident of Block-16 Gulshan-i-Iqbal said power supply remained suspended between 1 pm and 2 pm and between 3pm and 4pm.

From Federal B Area Block-3, a resident said power failures occurred twice: in the morning and then at 2pm.

Complaints were also received from F. B. Area Block 11 and Block-17, Sector 14/A of North Karachi, Korangi Crossing, KDA Scheme-1 and Block 17 of Gulistan-i-Jauhar.