KARACHI, Dec 28: Citizens of Karachi suffered yet another day of prolonged scheduled and unscheduled load-shedding, as well as power breakdowns, on Sunday. The disruptions occurred despite the fact that most commercial establishments and offices were closed.

Many citizens complained of multiple power supply disruptions throughout the day, and called Dawn to register their protests. They said they failed to understand why the Karachi Electricity Supply Company was “torturing” them, and that that they expected no power outages on Sunday due to lower demand.

Despite repeated attempts, KESC spokesperson Ayesha Erabi could not be contacted in order to get the KESC’s stance on these issues.

Sources at the utility, however, said that the power company had to curtail power generation because of a lack of resources available to buy fuel. They said the utility is now depending on supply from Wapda, which is also facing a shortage. They noted, however, that Wapda continued to supply the KESC with the power agreed upon between the two companies.

The irregular power supply has created many problems for residents of Karachi. People who live in high-rise apartment buildings have complained that because the power supply is not constant for an adequate length of time, they are unable to operate their water pumps to fill overhead tanks. Water supply to various parts of the city has also been disrupted due to the irregular power supply to pumping stations.

Callers complained to Dawn of the irregular supply also damaging expensive electronic equipment, such as televisions, DVD players, refrigerators and deep freezers. Many said that they had purchased uninterrupted power supply (UPS) systems, but as the KESC supply is operational for such short lengths of time, the batteries of these systems are never fully charged.

Others said they had purchased generators, but high fuel costs were making it difficult to operate them for any long stretch of time.

Citizens also complained that while the hours of load-shedding were increasing to between five and eight hours a day, the electricity bill appeared to be rising, rather than falling.

A senior journalist calling from Block 4-A of Gulshan-i-Iqbal said the power to his area had remained shut three or four times a day, for more than one hour each.

A young student from Gulistan-i-Jauhar said that during most of his winter vacations he had been unable to watch television or study during the evenings, as the frequency of power outages was far too high.

A housewife from Federal B Area Block 15 said that the electricity there had been cut three times on Sunday (from 9am-11am, 2pm-3pm and again from 5pm-7pm).

A Zamzama shopkeeper said that his area suffers from four to five spells of load-shedding, each of these lasting between an hour and an hour-and-a-half. A lawyer from Nazimabad said his area was without power between 6pm and 8pm, while a senior citizen from neighbouring North Nazimabad said her area was without power for two hours in the morning and an hour-and-a-half in the evening.

A caller from PECHS Block 2 said his area suffered three load-shedding spells on Sunday, adding up to five hours without electricity. Another caller, from DHA Phase I, said her area suffered from four spells of load-shedding.

A resident of Tauheed Commercial area said his area was without power from 10am to 3pm, and again from 6pm to 8pm, adding up to seven hours without power.

Speaking to the press recently, the KESC’s chief said that the organisation did not have the funds to purchase the fuel for its generators, and was hence dependent on other sources, including IPPs and Wapda, for power.

Sources within the utility say the KESC has failed to reduce its line losses, the major chunk of which is power theft. Power theft has caused the KESC to revise its tariffs, forcing law abiding customers to foot the bill for those stealing electricity.