Taxpayers furious at power outages in metropolis during rain

Power utility claims overall electric supply to Karachi is as 'per routine'

KARACHI: The apparently efficient power utility system, as per the sole power supplier to Karachi, K-Electric's (K-E) claims, collapsed soon after the first drop of rain. Interrupted power supply continued during and after monsoon showers in the city on Friday.

Since Wednesday, when the monsoon rains started, the people of Karachi have been forced to decry the downpour from the sky rather than enjoy it. The common man's problems have doubled due to the crippled drainage system and long power breakdowns.



In some areas of the city, the power closure lasted for as long as 23 hours, leaving people to suffer in the dark without access to a basic utility of electricity. Meanwhile, restoration work, termed by the power utility as 'continuing uninterrupted', took place a snail's pace.

A resident of Gulshan-e-Hadeed Phase I, Muhammad Shifran, 18, told The Express Tribune that the power transformer installed in their area caught fire and, when informed, K-E took about an hour to reach the site. "We spent our third day of Eid and the following night without electricity," Shifran said.

According to him, this was not the first time that he and others like him have had to suffer. "It happens almost every time, whether during the rain or heatwave. K-E has only one sentence to say - 'their teams are working to resolve the issue' - but nothing happens," he lamented.



Sami Shahzad, 28, a resident of Shah Faisal Colony Block 2, accused the power utility of 'looting' its consumers by making them pay hefty bills and giving them nothing in return. "I, as a taxpayer of this country, demand the authorities honestly investigate the K-E issue and hold it accountable for making the lives of its consumers miserable," he demanded.

Fareeduddin, a senior citizen who lives in North Nazimabad, said that this city is no longer a place to live, courtesy of the looting and plunder that the political parties, government servants and utilities, particularly K-E, engage in.

It is said that almost 70% of the city faced power breakdowns during the rain in the last three days. "Being a consumer, I ask K-E only one question - what kind of system is it operating when it cannot stand a rise in mercury or a downpour?" questioned Jasim Rizvi, a resident of Gulshan-e-Iqbal Block 13-D.



A similar ordeal was shared by Ehtisham Khalid, a resident of Korangi. He said that the health condition of an ailing, elderly member of his family worsened during these power breakdowns.

"There was no electricity in our locality and when we went out to take our [sick] family member to the hospital, we were greeted by a flood on the streets," Khalid shared.

"Are the people of this city, which generates the most revenue to the national exchequer, destined to meet this fate?" he questioned, criticising K-E. "We pay for your salaries. Your lives depend on the money we give you. Keep that in mind."

Not taking responsibility

"The overall power supply to Karachi is as per routine, including power supply to strategic installations, key hospitals, the Dhabeji pumping station and the airport," claimed K-E's Director of Marketing and Communications Sadia Dada when contacted by The Express Tribune.



We experienced difficulties during the restoration of some localised faults, isolated in nature, due to the rain on Thursday mainly in areas infested with kundas (illegal connections), she said, adding that these areas included certain parts of Baldia Town, Lyari, Shah Faisal, Khokhrapar, Surjani, and Korangi.

However, K-E, in coordination with the local administration, made an all-out effort to resolve these localised faults, Dada said.

'Brace yourselves for a water shortfall'

After braving the flood and power breakdown, the people of Karachi have been warned to brace themselves for another crisis, as a main water supply line has been damaged and may trigger a shortfall of 150 million gallons of water to the city.



According to a statement issued by the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB), the 72-inch diameter pipeline from the Dhabeji pumping station broke from two points due to back pressure after power supply from K-E was interrupted.

"On Friday at around 6:20am the power supply to the most important water pumping station in Dhabeji was stopped unannounced once again, which caused back pressure," read the statement, adding that the water spilling from the broken pipeline inundated the surrounding localities.

The KWSB claimed that repair work on the broken pipelines was started soon after the incident but it will take around 24 hours to return to normalcy and in that period water will not be released.