The management of Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) can provide schedule of electricity load shedding but cannot advertise it due to some technical reasons, said a representative of KESC’s Chief Executive Officer Tabish Gohar.
He said this during the hearing of a contempt of court application filed against the power utility for not adhering to court order on advertising the schedule of electricity shutdowns. Iqbal Kazmi had moved the Sindh High Court (SHC), submitting that the KESC is not complying with the court’s order to publish its load shedding schedule.
The SHC division bench of Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Mohammad Tasneem directed the applicant to submit his response. On Thursday, the representative appeared before the bench and stated that the power utility’s management has succeeded in decreasing load shedding hours and is trying to provide electricity to the citizens appropriately.
The bench after hearing his arguments issued directives to the applicant to submit his comments in the next hearing, which will be fixed later.
Kazmi had submitted that the SHC had, on his prior constitutional petition, ordered the KESC to publish load shedding schedules in newspapers to inform the consumers beforehand. He stated that despite tall claims by the KESC, the consumers are still suffering 12 to 16 hours of load shedding every day.
Drawing the court’s attention that nothing is above the law, the plaintiff referred to the Electricity Act 1910, stating that the electricity supply could not be suspended without informing the consumers.
The petitioner also claimed that the KESC was given subsidies worth Rs 1 billion by the government after its privatisation but the company wants to avail more subsidies now.
Citing federal Water and Power secretary, KESC, Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) chairman and National Electric Power Regularity Authority (NEPRA) as respondents, he further alleged that the KESC management wants to create a law and order situation in the metropolis by provoking the people to create turmoil.
