KARACHI: As protests are being held at parts of the megacity and outside K-Electric offices, KE on Friday announced fresh load shedding schedule for its customers.
The revised schedule is effective July 1, 2022 to provide relief to customers experiencing night-time load shedding.
As per KE spokesman, the shortfall in KE territory has increased from an average of 250 MW – 350 MW to almost 450 MW – 500 MW due to rising temperatures and curtailed fuel supply.
Moreover, the shortfall persists round the clock making the night-time load shedding unavoidable.
KE is also facing a power supply constraint due to reduced gas supplies from SSGC, which is down to approximately 90 MMCFD versus the 200 MMCFD gas that was supplied last year. Consequently, two plants in KE’s system, one at SITE and one at Korangi, with a combined generation of 200MW, remain non-operational. The release of KE dues from the government against tariff claims will enable KE to pay fuel suppliers in full and negotiate for more gas.
KE Spokesperson said, “This revision in timing is in line with our discussion with various stakeholders including the Ministry of Energy Sindh, as well as, Commissioner Karachi. We are making every endeavour to seek support in mitigating these issues. Unfortunately, at this time there is a power shortfall at the national level, as well as, shortage of gas and RLNG in the country. We are grateful to the Minister of Energy Imtiaz Sheikh for his pledge to solicit additional power and gas to further reduce night-time load shedding. In the meanwhile, and due to limited and finite energy sources, we have redistributed the load shedding timings amongst the customers.”
“The updated schedule of the new load shedding regime has been made publicly available on KE’s website. Consumers can use their account numbers to find their individual schedule. KE is also duly communicating to registered consumers via KE’s SMS service. With that said, uninterrupted power supply will continue to feeders powering Karachi’s industrial zones and strategic feeders including those energizing KWSB and strategic installations such as Karachi Airport,” the spokesperson added.
The load shedding schedule in place is applicable on a daily recurring basis. Interruptions in power supply due to necessary maintenance on the network, or due to technical faults should not be equated with load shedding. KE teams remain active to rectify known issues. Any customer facing an outage of more than 30 to 40 minutes outside of their load shedding timings is requested to check their KE Live app for an update on their power status; KE’s call centre 118 also remains available 24/7.
With reports of protests being received from across the city, spokesperson KE stated, “This is a difficult time for the country in terms of the power supply situation. Global economic challenges are creating vulnerabilities in the fuel supply chain, which is also affecting K-Electric. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience being caused to our consumers. While we recognize the right to protest, at the same time we request our citizens to maintain peace. Over the last 30 days, various KE offices have been the target of protests, which are impairing KE’s ability to conduct its operations in the city.”
Sharing a recent power supply update to the city, the KE spokesperson in their message via social media also shared, “Total average power supply in KE’s service territory was around 2900MW on 30th June, 2022.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
Comments
Comments are closed.