KARACHI:
This refers to a ‘letter to editor’ titled ‘Load-shedding’ published here on March 22. While we understand the consumer’s grievance, we would like to clarify an important distinction between planned maintenance shutdowns and commercial load-shed, which are independent of one another.
Planned maintenance shutdowns are important to be undertaken to ensure a reliable supply of electricity to our consumers across Karachi. These activities are mapped in advance and the utility undertakes all necessary measures to communicate these activities to consumers. In addition to making the activity schedule publicly available on K-Electric website, consumers who have registered their mobile numbers against their KE accounts also receive an SMS via 8119 about the date and duration of the maintenance activity. To register for SMS updates, consumers are advised to send ‘REG’ followed by a space and their KE account number to 8119.
Commercial load-shed is undertaken across Pakistan in line with the National Electric Policy and hinges on the proportion of theft and non-payment of bills in an area, which impacts a utility’s capacity to serve its customers. Through sustained investments and continuous efforts, KE has been able to extend the percentage of areas exempt from load-shed to over 75% of the city, and we are committed to increasing this number with concerted efforts in the years to come. A list of the areas and the schedule of outage timings is also available on KE’s website for public access. As a customer-centric utility, KE remains available for assistance and information through several channels.
KE spokesperson
Karachi
Published in The Express Tribune, April 5th, 2022.
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