KARACHI, Aug 21: Mishandling of the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation’s 11KV system is causing tripping of feeders and prolonged power outages in many parts of the city.

The problem is rampant and prolonged outages are caused as the KESC switches off an entire feeder even to change a jumper or to carry out some other repair work, insiders maintained.

Normally, more than 20 substations or pole-mounted transformers (PMTs) are hooked a feeder and they all have to remain without power for several hours until a fault is rectified.

Closure of the feeders is not only a problem for consumers, but it also results in-loss of revenue to the utility, sources said.

Disturbance in load distribution on various feeders makes it difficult for KESC staff to locate faults, and it becomes time-consuming.

Residents of North Nazimabad are victims of this disturbance in load distribution on the various feeders of the 11 KV system.

Haphazard load-transfer on the Blessings Feeder, running parallel to the Friends Heights, has made consumers hooked to these two feeders uncomfortable.

They say that despite recommendations in a report on KESC operations that there was a need to shorten the existing long length of 11 KV feeders in addition to the planned new feeders, and that there should be separate control panels for bundled feeders and that a plan be chalked out to shorten the extremely long mains and sub-mains etc., no such work was visible.

Moreover, the 11 KV system had further been disturbed.

It has also been noticed that the LT and HT protection on distribution substations and PMTs is decrepit, and solid wires are in use against the required fuse-links.

The light transmission breakers in most of the cases are faulty and are unable to isolate the distribution transformers from faults/damages.

This was the reason for a huge damage rate to such transformers in the past. The earthing and grounding at PMTs/sub-stations is also required in many cases.

Meanwhile, there are reports that utility does not have the adequate spares to remove faults and many of the items are mysteriously vanishing from the KESC stores and can be found at private stores.

The situation of illegal connections is also alarming.

The figure of such connections may be more than around 6,00,000.

The position of existing generation and upcoming projects reveals that there was delayed maintenance and paucity of staff due to attrition on account of retirements and depletion. All this is hitting the operational capabilities.