Federal govt committed to resolving Karachi’s power crisis, Awais Leghari assures Sindh CM

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Power Awais Leghari assured Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah that federal government is fully committed to a reasonable resolution of the issues which have resulted in the current power crisis in Karachi.

In his second letter to the Sindh CM over the issue, he said that the “federal government has taken various measures to provide relief to the residents of Karachi, including the convening of multiple meetings between stakeholders for deciding upon urgent steps to be taken”.

Leghari also mentioned: “The question of outstanding payables of Karachi Water and Sanitation Board are concerned, it may be noted that KWSB is the responsibility of the Government of Sindh on account of the 18^th Amendment and such responsibility cannot be overridden by any contractual agreement.”

He stressed that provincial government entities, including the KWSB, are also important stakeholders who cannot shirk their responsibility of paying for electric power services being provided to them.

“The resolution of issues therefore also involves an element of recognition and redressal of provincial government department defaults,” he wrote, adding “I, therefore, urge you to treat this as an issue of National importance which the residents, businesses, and industry of one of the most important cities of the country are at stake.”

Since the last few weeks, Karachi has been facing severe load-shedding after K-Electric said the Sui Southern Gas Company has curbed supply and it is thus unable to produce the required amount of power. The gas company claims KE owes it millions in dues and will restore supply once the payments are made.

The residents bear the brunt of the tug-of-war as prolonged power cuts have continued to plague Karachi, with previously exempted areas being subjected to six hours of load-shedding every day.

The areas most affected by the ongoing power crisis include blocks 8, 9, 10, 13 and 14 of Federal B Area, C-1, C and No 10 localities of Liaquatabad, Orangi Town, Korangi, Safoora Goth, Scheme 33, Abul Hasan Isphahani Road, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Malir, Model Colony, New Karachi and North Karachi.