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KARACHI, Aug 2: The Karachi Electric Supply Corporation and the Water and Power Development Authority seem to be at daggers drawn with each other as neither wants to take responsibility for loadshedding in Karachi.
The people have been suffering of late owing to loadshedding and frequent power disruptions.
In response to a news-item in the Thursday issue of Dawn, a Wapda press release says: “On Aug 1, Wapda provided 255mw electricity to KESC and there was no limitation given by Wapda.”
The press release concludes: “The KESC always blames Wapda in this regard to hide its inefficiency.”
Nothing daunted, the KESC issued the following press release on Friday:
“The KESC is facing a shortfall of 200 megawatts due to a technical fault developed at Wapda’s end on 220KV KDA/Jamshoro circuit on July 23, thus forcing the KESC to resort to loadshedding in all the four groups during evening peak hours.
“The import from Wapda is restricted to maximum 250 megawatts due to the technical fault at Wapda end causing a shortfall of about 200 megawatts from 8.30pm to 12.30am.”
COMPLAINTS: People calling from different localities said that loadshedding did not follow a one-hour schedule announced by the KESC.
A resident of Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Block 14, said: “Our locality remained without power at different intervals throughout the day. If we add up the number of hours, we remained without electricity, we spent more time without power than with power.”
A resident of Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Block 16, told Dawn her locality had been without electricity for more than three hours the previous night.
“When I called my regional complaint centre, they told me that it was an isolated fault. It was absurd because the entire area in our neighbourhood had been dark and they were telling me that it was an isolated fault,” she said.
Askari Hussain, a resident of Orangi Town, Sector 11.5, told Dawn that his area had faced many power shutdowns throughout the day.
Calling from Tauheed Commercial Area, Defence Housing Authority, Phase V Extension, Mohammad Akbar and Atif Khan (from plot 7-C) and Mohammad Yousuf and Mohammad Yonus (from plot 9-C) said their locality faced electricity failures almost every day. “Daily we remain without electricity for one to two hours.”
A resident of Gharibabad, Federal B Area, told Dawn that his locality had faced the first power cut in the early hours of Sunday. “Our power supply went off after Zuhar prayers. We had lunch in sweltering heat.”
Another resident of the same locality said they had been facing a water shortage because of prolonged power shutdowns. ”Whenever there is a power cut, we cannot use our water motor. This naturally creates a water shortage.”
