The Karachiites may see increased power outages as the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) Wednesday disconnected gas supply to the Karachi Electric Supply Company’s (KESC) Korangi Thermal power station residential complex at Korangi Creek for the non-payment of bills. The SSGC spokesman said the disconnection was made on January 30 “against outstanding amount of Rs 45.78 million”. When contacted, a KESC spokesperson told Pakistan Today that the issue in question was not that of non-payment. Rather, the dispute was primarily based on the reconciliation differences on the excessive charges applied and insisted upon by SSGC, he added. “For reasons better known to and unexplained by SSGC, it had unilaterally started sending monthly gas bills in excess of Rs 20,000 per residential quarter to the residents of KESC’s power plant’s staff colony,” said Aminur Rehman, GM Media at KESC. He said it was important to note that these were only two-room live-in residential quarters for the plant workers for whom SSGC started sending excessive bills without any justification. The continuous monthly billing of such excessive amounts had mushroomed and for which KESC had approached earlier as for reconciliation, said the spokesman. He said the KESC had already stated that it was ready to pay Rs 10 million towards settlement of the dues and the remaining charges were also promised to be reconciled mutually within reasonable time.
