Karachi is in the grip of a power crisis, and the utility has become a luxury. Surely owing to mismanagement, pilferage and an odd distribution system, electricity supply in the country’s biggest metropolitan has become an enigma. This is toiling not only the civic peace and comfort hours of the citizens, but also businesses. Prolonged and unannounced interruption in power supply as well as voltage fluctuation issues are rife, and Tuesday (June 28) will long be remembered as a day of outrage as more than half of the city was devoid of electricity for more than 14 hours. This simply hints at the crisis of governance and the nuisance of ad hocism that has subjugated the once ‘city of lights’ into a marginalised dark hole.
Tuesday’s protest must have sent the right signals to the authorities in slumber. Especially the K-Electric management that lives in a paranoid world of its own, and is oblivious to the pain that Karachiites have been experiencing for decades. Notwithstanding the power shortfall, which has reportedly risen to around 500MW due to inclement hot weather, it is the infrastructure and production that is questionable, and needs a thorough scrutiny. This disorder, coupled with a soaring tariff, is testing the patience of consumers. This is why the clashes with police on the streets, which led to a casualty too, is the tip of the iceberg of unrest that the citizens are simmering with. Last but not least, it is also leading to telecom connectivity failures if load-shedding goes on unabated.
Karachi’s electricity conundrum is in need of a holistic solution. No piecemeal measures will help. First and foremost, the monopoly of K-Electric must come to an end, and other competitors ushered in to make room for a fair deal. Likewise, it is high time for parallel power generation avenues to be tapped, including solar panels so that they impact favourably on the quality of life and take care of budget constraints in these testing times. Power crisis is not merely a domestic consumers’ issue, but also entails broadly on production and employment. A grinding halt to businesses and industries, owing to disempowered grids, is a death warrant of the economy. Karachi for long has been at the mercy of a jaundiced otherness. End this power vacuum instantly.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 30th, 2022.
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