KARACHI, April 14: Just when the Sui Southern Gas Company starts supplying 240MMCFD of natural gas to the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation, the “outside connecting conductor insulator of the 132kv Orangi circuit grid station develops SF6 gas leakage which needs immediate mending to avoid fire hazard at the grid station”.

Recently the SSGC increased gas supply to the KESC power plants in Karachi and at Bin Qasim to 240MMCFD, saying it is more than the committed gas offtakes of 236MMCFD to these power plant.

It was hoped that these improved supply levels would reduce fuel cost to the KESC and improve efficiency of its units.

A press release issued by the KESC says: “The damaged circuit supplies electricity to consumers of Orangi Town and North Karachi. Seventy per cent of the power load of Orangi Town and North Karachi will be backfed through other grids. But nearly 30 per cent of the load cannot be arranged through other sources due to system constraints. Therefore, a forced shutdown on a feederwise rotational basis for two hours in the morning peak consumption time and two hours in the evening peak consumption time will be effected for four days from 9am on Tuesday.”

Calling from Orangi Town, a KESC consumer wondered why the power utility brought all its energies to bear upon the so-called posh localities such as Clifton and Defence. “Every now and then we read in the papers that the KESC has opened this customer service centre in Clifton or that grid station in Defence. Do the KESC consumers in low-income areas do not deserve such facilities? Besides, the KESC makes least effort to ensure uninterrupted power supply to these localities.”

Another consumer from the same area said quite often the KESC switched off power supply to our locality alleging that there were many power thieves among us. “Pakistan must be the only country in the world where law-abiding, tax-paying people are penalized for the sins of those who indulge in power pilferage,” he noted.

A consumer calling from Defence, Phase V, deplored the fact that the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority had once again upped power tariff.