KARACHI: K-Electric Co. Ltd. has made the life of Karachiites miserable by imposing unannounced frequent load shedding while the bureaucrats of NEPRA are least bothered about fulfilling their responsibilities against this unlawful attitude of the power utility.  On 28 September, there was a seven (7) hours-long load shedding in Gulistan-e-Johar without stating any reason. It started at 1.45 pm and ended at 8.45 pm with two small intervals, one at 2.45 pm that lasted up to 3.00 pm and the other at 7.15 pm that continued up to 7.30 pm.

The power consumers in Karachi are fed up with such malafide performance of the utility that is generating huge amounts towards the cost and other limitless charges per unit supply of energy. It is unduly charging the consumers with the nonsense headings of on-peak and off-peak hours just to mint money from innocent consumers. They question the justification of such absurd charges but neither NEPRA nor the management of the K-Electric has any satisfactory reply about this illogical and meaningless tariff in addition to the electricity duty, sales tax, income tax, and TV License Fee and Fuel adjustment charges.

Mostly it purchases electricity from IPPs, WAPDA, and the National Grid, which is already overcharged with their production cost, other levies, and profit. Then K-Electric added its own distribution charges, additional fuel charges which were never spent, and plus its own profit margin. It makes a double burden on Karachiites with double taxation and dual margins without any justification. This is the reason why the Auditor General of Pakistan did never check its accounts while the government of Pakistan is already a major shareholder in this organization but the bureaucratic favors are protecting extremely all the corrupt practices by this power utility. People in Karachi have repeatedly urged to get a physical audit of K-Electric performance and its accounts but a powerful mafia is deliberately protecting the plundering of consumers in Karachi by this Company.

Published in The Daily National Courier, September, 29 2022

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