KARACHI, Dec 6: Karachi Electricity Supply Corporation resorted to load shedding on Wednesday for an hour on rotation basis across the city. The utility is beset by delays in the repairs of one of its power generation unit in Bin Qasim Power Station and two units in Korangi Thermal Power Station. The shortfall in power supply resulted in load shedding.

The Director Operations, Adnan Bashir Khan, however denied the utility was resorting to load shedding and said: “We have switched off almost 80 feeders for 20-25 minutes as we tested one of the six power generating units in Bin Qasim Power Station. No load shedding was carried out, some areas were without power supply where planned shutdowns were observed.”

An irate consumer Azeem from Cantonment Bazaar in Malir Cantonment said: “We were without power supply from 9am to 4pm.” He said when the KESC had been resorting to unannounced power load shedding during winter season, what would happen to its consumers during the next summer, he queried. Another consumer from Baghdadi, Lyari said t the power supply played hide-and-seek through out the day and the previous night.

Sources in the operations and generation departments said two of the three units in Korangi Thermal Power Station were out of order for the past two months and KESC engineers had failed to put them back to service. Similarly, the boiler of unit No.6 in BQPS developed a leak and the unit was closed. Another unit No.3 in the same station was already out of order for two months for maintenance. The power utility faced shortfall in power generation due to shutdown of its four power generating units – two each in BQPS and KTPS.

Power demand on Wednesday rose to 1,700 MW and the KESC faced shortfall of 50-100 MW as supply from Wapda remained up to 600 MW instead of 750 MW. The power utility did not have any option but to opt for group-wise power load shedding on rotation across the city.

The power demand next summer is expected to go up to 2,500 MW. If the utility fails to boost its capacity to generate more power by the end of March, Karachiites may face a power crisis.