The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has warned that prolonged power outages are hurting industrial production, commercial activity, jobs and exports in the city. KCCI President Talat Mahmood said on Wednesday that the chamber has received reports of load-shedding lasting up to 14 hours a day in some areas. He added that localities previously exempt from scheduled cuts have also been hit.
K-Electric tells a different story about the present. On Tuesday, October 13, the utility said it had ended its temporary additional load management after RLNG supplies resumed and generation at Bin Qasim Power Station-III stabilized. It added that scheduled outages will continue in areas with high electricity theft and low bill recovery.
Cuts spread to areas that were exempt
The extra cuts began around October 9, when K-Electric started phased one-hour load-shedding in areas that had been spared. Residents in Malir, Landhi, SITE, Baldia, Gulshan-e-Iqbal and Scheme 33 reported outages, according to ARY News. K-Electric blamed an LNG shortage for the constraint. It has since attributed the additional measures to reduced RLNG availability caused by disrupted international LNG supplies and delayed cargoes. arynews
Fourteen hours is more than half the day
A 14-hour cut leaves a factory on grid power for fewer than ten hours. KCCI says that raises operating costs, disrupts production schedules, increases the risk of machinery damage and threatens delivery and export commitments. Small and medium-sized businesses are the most exposed because many cannot afford backup power. Mahmood said the burden also falls on shops, offices, service providers and daily-wage workers.
He acknowledged that fuel shortages can complicate generation but said consumers should not carry the cost through long outages without clear explanations, contingency plans and timelines for relief. KCCI wants K-Electric to review its load-management arrangements, maximize available generation and coordinate with federal authorities. It also asked the federal and provincial governments, the Ministry of Energy and regulators to investigate the cause and extent of the outages.
NEPRA and the Sindh High Court are already involved
The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) ordered K-Electric on August 31 to stop unannounced, unscheduled and excessive load-shedding. It also told the utility to end feeder-level cuts based on aggregate technical and commercial losses. NEPRA said theft or high losses on a feeder cannot justify cutting supply to compliant, paying consumers. The regulator noted that KCCI had earlier filed formal complaints, and separate proceedings on them are underway.
The dispute is also in court. 19 industrial concerns in the SITE area challenged unannounced load-shedding before the Sindh High Court’s constitutional bench. The court issued notices to K-Electric, NEPRA and other parties and asked for their replies by October 19. The petitioners say the utility cuts power 10 to 12 hours a day.
