KARACHI, July 3: The Sindh High Court asked the Karachi Electricity Supply Corporation, the Water and Power Development Authority and the federal water and power ministry on Monday to explain the unprecedented power failures in the city and recount measures, if any, taken to provide relief to the hapless consumers on July 10.

A writ petition moved by a lawyer also requested the court to order production of all relevant documents pertaining to privatization of the KESC, the agreement reached between the Privatization Commission on the one hand and M/s KESC Power Limited, M/s Hasan Associates and M/s Premier Mercantile Services (Pvt) Limited on the other.

It also sought production of the plan on the basis of which the corporation was sold. The petitioner prayed for an interim injunction requiring the KESC to stop unannounced loadshedding and notify at all power outages at least one day in advance in the meantime.

Advocate Nadeem Ahmed submitted through Advocate Amjad Bokhari that despite recovery of heavy bills from its residents, the city was being subjected to extended and unscheduled electricity shutdowns of a magnitude unprecedented in its history in suffocating heat and humidity. Not only industrial, commercial and domestic consumers but also hospitals, clinics and educational institutions were being deprived of their lifeline to continued operations. The breakdown has also resulted in water scarcity in some areas. The public outcry has failed to register with the authorities.

The petition said power failure amounted to the infringement of the most basic right to life guaranteed by Article 9 of the Constitution. It proposed that a commission consisting of serving and retired judges of superior courts should be constituted to look into the crisis and submit its report at the earliest possible. The respondents should be asked to explain the fast deteriorating power supply situation and come out with a comprehensive plan to ensure adequate and regular provision of the essential utility. M/s Siemens Pakistan Engineering Limited, who have been hired by the new owners to operate and manage the corporation, were also cited as a respondent.

The KESC, the petition recalled, was privatized in November 2005, with the federal government transferring 73 per cent shares along with management to a consortium of private investors. According to it, 71.5 shares were transferred to KESC Power Limited, ‘a company registered outside Pakistan, probably in Cayman Island, whose shareholding and paid-up capital were not ascertainable’. M/s Hasan Associates, ‘a company registered in Pakistan with no experience in the field of power generation or distribution’, hold 1 per cent of the shares and M/s Premier Mercantile Limited, ‘a cargo handling company’, 0.5 per cent.

The federal government, it said, now has 25.65 per cent shares and others 1.35 per cent. The petition claimed that Brig Tariq Khan Saddozai had ‘massively’ improved the KESC working and it was ‘on its way to break even’ when the decision to privatize the corporation was taken.

A division bench, comprising Justices Anwar Zaheer Jamali and Mohammad Afzal Soomro, directed the respondents to appear and file their comments on July 10.