KARACHI, July 6: Citizens are likely to be subjected to a rapidly worsening power crisis since the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) has failed to rectify 272 faults along main cables across its network.
Well-placed sources in the power utility told Dawn that in the first week of July, the KESC compiled a report which revealed 322 faults along various main cables, some of which occurred during the June 23 storm. Of these, 50 faults have been repaired.
The delay in dealing with the rest is attributed to incompetence and the lack of professionalism on part of the KESC’s operations and management contractor firm, Siemens.
These statistics show 88 faults in high-tension lines, 154 faults in linking cables, 42 faults in sub-stations and pole-mounted transformers and 38 faults in low tension cables. These figures do not include minor faults such as snapped wires and jumpers, the incidence of which runs in thousands, said Dawn’s sources.
Faults not repaired
A fault at the KDA grid station has been causing the 220KV KDA-Pipri circuit No. 2 to trip since June 20. Four pylons of the 132KV KDA-Malir circuit was damaged on June 23 and has not so far been repaired, said the sources, as a result of which alternative arrangements have had to be made for the provision of electricity. A fault at the Korangi-west grid station caused the tripping of the 132KV Korangi west-Defence circuit.
Among the areas affected by the cable faults and continuous tripping are: Lalazar, Jacob Lines, Defence, Clifton, Saddar, Jubilee, Landhi, Gulshan-i-Hadeed, Korangi Industrial Area, Tariq Road, PECHS, Quaidabad, Malir, Shah Faisal Colony, Buffer Zone, Orangi town, Pak Colony, Gulshan-i-Maymar, Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Gulzar-i-Hijri, North Nazimabad, Nazimabad, North Karachi, Manghopir Road, Liaquatabad, KDA Scheme 33, Firdous Colony and F.B. Area’s Blocks 11, 12, 13, 15, 16 and 20.
Sources within the KESC complain of the lack of proper guidelines and coordination between related departments within the power company, and say that the lack of discipline or a chain of command has created chaos. “Earlier, there were guidelines such as the rule that during the rains, high and low tension lines were given precedence,” they said, “but now, no one knows what to do.”
According to the information received by Dawn, main cable faults have forced the KESC to switch to alternative lines to supply electricity to affected areas. However, this is a makeshift arrangement since shifting load on to other cables means that power supply to different areas has to be switched off in turn. In addition, the repeated shifting of load increases the incidence of breakdowns, fluctuations and low voltage. The sources warn that the main cable faults must be repaired urgently since the KESC has no substitute in case the alternative lines break down. However, they claim, Siemens has been unable to absorb the true severity of the situation, with the danger of the collapse of the entire KESC distribution network.