Thread: KARACHI: Major power breakdown in many areas

KARACHI, June 10: The outdated and weak distribution system of the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation broke down in Gulshan-i-Iqbal on Saturday suspending power supply to a major portion of the city at around noon. Many areas could not be energised till late in the night.

An extra high-tension line supplying electricity to the Gulshan grid station developed a fault rendering Gulshan-i-Iqbal, the adjoining Metroville-III area and parts of Gulistan-i-Jauhar without power.

The supply could be restored in only half the affected area till late night.

A spokesman for the KESC said that the extra high-tension line, carrying electricity from Landhi to the Gulshan grid developed fault which was repaired accordingly. However, two transformers at the grid went out of order later. The repair work was in progress, he added.

The tussle between the corporate heads of the privatised KESC and its contractor firm, Siemens, has badly affected the power utility’s performance. Since March this year, the shabby system of KESC has developed 21 major faults causing many prolonged breakdowns resulting in riots at different places in the city.

The Karachiites have been looking at their elected representatives, whose mysterious silence had occasionally forced the badly affected consumers to take to the street to draw the government’s attention to the KESC affairs.

A resident from Metroville-III said that power failures of two-four hours a day were a routine but on Saturday, the situation turned serious when the suspension of power supply had already ran into almost 10 hours and the supply was not restored yet.

A resident of Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Block-12, said that power supply to his area was discontinued at around 8am on Saturday and the KESC men maintained that it was due to a local fault. At noon, they said that the fault had been rectified but another fault had developed, now in the high-tension line.

A consumer from Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Block-17, said that power went off at around 1pm and was restored at 5pm. It again went off at 5:30pm and was not restored till late in the night. Intermittent power failures for two to three hours a day were already a routine in his locality, he added.

Residents of Journalists' Society in Block-4/A Gulshan-i-Iqbal said that the power went off at around 1pm and it was not restored till late in the night.

A power consumer from Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Block 13-D/III, said that power supply remained suspended whole the night between Friday and Saturday. It went off again at noon on Saturday and was not restored till late in the night.

http://dawn.com/2006/06/11/local3.htm