Tag: loadshedding

  • Over 12 hours of electricity load shedding in Karachi

    Over 12 hours of electricity load shedding in Karachi

    Amid intense heat, Karachi continues to face severe electricity load shedding lasting between 12 and 14 hours. Despite the challenging weather, unannounced power cuts persist throughout the city, extending well past 2 am in many areas.

    Neighbourhoods such as Lyari, Kemari, Sarjani, Baldia Town, and Orangi endure prolonged load shedding, with interruptions lasting up to 14 hours. Similarly, Gizri, Korangi, Landhi, Liaquatabad, Qayyumabad, and Shadman experience more than 10 hours of power cuts. In Malir, Memongoth, North Karachi, and North Nazimabad, residents face load shedding exceeding 12 hours.

    In response to these challenges, a spokesperson for Karachi Electric maintains that power supply across the city remains normal, despite reports of extensive and prolonged interruptions in various neighbourhoods.

  • Owais Leghari requests Mohsin Naqvi to help with grid stations protesters in KP

    Owais Leghari requests Mohsin Naqvi to help with grid stations protesters in KP

    Federal Energy Minister Owais Leghari has approached Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi for immediate help to deal with the protests that occurred at grid stations across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on Wednesday.

    Owais Leghari expressed concern in a written letter to Mohsin Naqvi that the local police are not registering cases against the responsible individuals.

    The chief executive officer of the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) confirmed in his submitted report that such incidents are happening in Mardan, Charsadda, Tank, Bannu and Peshawar.

    “Provincial assembly members and others gave illegal orders to grid station staff regarding power restoration,” the letter read.

    Chief Minister KP Ali Amin Gandapur entered the grid station and restored the power supply, declaring his own loadshedding plan.

    “No area will face loadshedding beyond 12 hours. Assembly members should visit grid stations in their respective areas to ensure compliance with the load-shedding schedule,” Gandapur stated while warning the federal government about the loadshedding issue.

  • Gandapur threatens to take over PESCO if loadshedding schedule not changed in KP

    Gandapur threatens to take over PESCO if loadshedding schedule not changed in KP

    The Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur on Wednesday threatened to occupy the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) if the federal government did not solve the severe loadshedding problem in the province by tonight.

    “I’m giving a clear message to the Minister of Power and the federal government about the brutal loadshedding you have started in KP,” said Gandapur in a video statement.

    The CM said he’d talked with the PESCO Chief and that at least “five to six hours of decrease in loadshedding” must be implemented in the province.

    The CM stated, “If you think we don’t know how to take our right then we will show it to you.”

    He said his words were not a “warning but my timeline”.

  • Karachi mein kab aur kahan bijli nahi hogi?

    Karachi mein kab aur kahan bijli nahi hogi?

    The K-Electric (KE) on Thursday announced an hours-long power shutdown in parts of Karachi due to forthcoming “critical maintenance activity” at Malir Grid today (Friday).

    According to the official statement, the power distribution company would be undertaking a critical maintenance activity at Malir Grid on December 29.

    The maintenance work will be undertaken to ensure the stability and reliability of the power supply to consumers residing in these areas, the KE spokesperson said.

    As per the schedule, the power supply will remain temporarily suspended from 9am to 6pm for Malir Grid.

    For further guidance, customers may also reach out to KE’s social media platforms or via call centre 118, the company added.

    Following are areas served by the Malir Grid may experience power shutdown during the maintenance work:

    Askari-V Flats, Askari-V Malir Cantt, Model Colony Sheet-5, 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10 Lassi Para, Rana Garden, Alamgir Society Block-A&C, Liaquat Avenue, Gulshan-e-Qamar, Deh-Tapo Memon goth, Block 8 & 8/A till Malir Cantt, Gulistan-e-Johar, Malir H-Area, F.South, Jinnah Square, Aleemabad, Sajan Goth, Sehar Town, Bismillah Town, D-4 Area, D-1, C-Area, S-2, S-1, D-2 Malir Colony, Bout Goth, F.South, G-Area, Ind Area, Jinnah Colony, Jaffer Tyar Malir, Malir Millat Garden, Sahibdad Goth, Abidia Center, Bout Goth, Askari V Bungalows, Malir Cantt. Sector H Bungalows, Model Colony RKV, Sheet # 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15 & 16, Jaffer Bagh, Tina Square, Sweet Homeland, Memon Goth Industrial Area, Damlottee Road, Malir Nafees Banglows, F.South, Nafees Town, Jaffer Tyar, Aleemabad C Area, Seher Town, Atiq Town, and Sajan Goth.

    The electricity firm had announced the power shutdown schedule for areas served by Memon Goth-New Landhi Grid and Orangi Town Grid on December 25 and 26 respectively.

  • Protests against loadshedding turn violent in Lyari

    Protests against loadshedding turn violent in Lyari

    Residents of Karachi’s Lyari staged a protest against prolonged load-shedding in their area on Wednesday, blocking both tracks of Mauripur Road and stopping vehicular traffic, Dawn reports. Police were allegedly forced to fire tear gas shells and baton charge the protestors to clear the road. 

    The vice chairman of UC-7 in  Lyari, Zohaib Baloch, who is one of the organisers of the protest, reportedly told Dawn that Lyari residents were facing up to 16 hours of load shedding daily, which exacerbated the crisis of water in the locality. 

    A large number of people, including women and children, staged a sit-in on Mauripur Road near Dua Hotel, blocking one of the busiest thoroughfares in the city. 

    A police officer, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed that they were compelled to take aggressive action when protestors started ‘smashing’ cars and other vehicles on the road.

    Baloch, however, claims that the police charged the locals with batons and fired tear gas at them in order to disperse the protest. He adds that their protest would continue until their demands were fulfilled. 

    According to Dawn, Baloch said that residents at Mira Naka in Lyari were protesting the same problem. Alas, this is not the first time residents of what is considerably one of Karachi’s oldest neighbourhoods have staged protests against insufficient facilities and provisions. 

    In fact, just earlier this week on Monday, residents of Lyari staged a protest against long hours of gas shortages, claiming that and the scarcity of fuel forces them to burn wood to cook meals. 

    The smoke that rises from the burning wood has caused sickness in children, while the infrastructure of houses has also been affected due to the use of wood fire. 

    Residents of Mandra Para, Rahiman Soomra and Baloch Mohallo placed gas cylinders and gas stoves on the road to protest, and the protestors included women and children.

    Karachi Press Club president Saeed Sarbazi said that K-Electric might have reasons to resort to load-shedding on the pretext of ‘losses’, but a host of issues must be considered for the problem to be resolved, Dawn reports. 

    He added that residents of Lyari were of a working-class background and thereby could not afford exorbitant electricity bills, saying that the problem required a political and social initiative.

  • Student dies from heatstroke during board exam in Sindh

    A tragic accident took place at the Government Degree College in Khairpur, Sindh, when a student, Mehtab Ali, passed away during Grade XI intermediate board examinations due to load shedding in extreme heat.

    According to The Nation, Ali fainted during his exam and was rushed to the hospital where he passed away despite attempts to revive him.

    While students are giving their final examinations, the ongoing power outrage has exposed them to the heatwave, putting many at risk of suffering from heat strokes or nose bleeds. The Sindh Minister for Board and Education, Ismail Rahoo, has encouraged authorities to ensure that examination halls have uninterrupted power supply so that such fatal incidents can be avoided.

  • ‘The fault in our taars’; Electricity will come and go but Pakistan’s meme game will stay

    ‘The fault in our taars’; Electricity will come and go but Pakistan’s meme game will stay

    Pakistanis woke up to a nationwide power breakdown and utter confusion regarding about what is going on. But don’t worry, we got you covered.
    According to a statement released by the Energy Minister, the power outrage has gripped parts of Pakistan , begun when the country’s National Grid went out at 7: 30 am, “causing a widespread breakdown in the power system”, as per the tweet.

    But if the lights are down, it means more meme material for Pakistanis. Any time a national crisis takes place, find your refuge on Twitter, among some of the hilarious reactions churning out since this morning.

    Group chat is on fire today

    https://twitter.com/Usman27849070/status/1617406619289092096?s=20&t=CSjykoQlY4PN1IUUQrX4Vg

    Ok that’s harsh

    Happy ghum hour everyone

  • Restaurant owners and traders denounce government’s national energy conservation plan, calling it ‘counterproductive’

    Restaurant owners and traders denounce government’s national energy conservation plan, calling it ‘counterproductive’

    Restaurant owners and traders condemned the national energy conservation plan the government announced yesterday, warning that it will create more problems rather than solutions.

    Under the National Energy Conservation Plan, the government has announced that all restaurants and markets shall be closed by 8 pm, while the timing for wedding halls will be limited to 10 pm.

    President of the All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajran, Ajmal Baloch, urged the government to reconsider the decision, stating that it might bankrupt traders as they purchase the most expensive electricity during the timings 6pm to 8pm.

    “The government, before defaulting the country, will bankrupt all traders.”

    Rizwan Irfan, the President of the Karachi Electric Dealers Association, said while lamenting the policy. He pointed out that traders were facing problems due to electricity and gas load shedding, stressing that such a decision might cause merchants to start protesting in the streets.

    The President of the All Pakistan Restaurants Association, Athar Chawla, has called the national energy conservation plan a “counterproductive” approach to ressolving the energy crisis in Pakistan. In a letter to the Minister of Defence Khwaja Asif, who had unveiled the plan at a press conference on Tuesday, he asked that the policy be reconsidered because of how much it could harm restaurants.

    “All restaurants carry an inventory of perishable items, which is to be kept in cold storage 24 hours a day and seven days a week, another major electricity consuming machinery are air-conditioners which are already off due to winter season,” he said.

    The letter also urged the minister to consider the losses restaurants suffered during Covid-19, and mentioned that almost 50% restaurants suffered losses due to the present economic situation:

    “Any further restriction will aggravate the situation resulting in huge unemployment and loss of revenue for the government.”

    The letter requested that the government allow restaurants to operate their dine-in function till 1 am, and food delivery to function 24/7.

  • Loadshedding situation to get better by mid-July, says Musadik Malik

    Loadshedding situation to get better by mid-July, says Musadik Malik

    Minister of State for Petroleum Dr Musadik Malik hoped that the loadshedding situation across the country will get better in the second half of July.

    Earlier, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif warned the nation of more power outages next month.

    Musadik further said that Pakistan is trying to import coal from Afghanistan. He said the major reason behind electricity loadshedding is the water shortage in dams, while the other reasons include coal price hikes and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) shortage in the international market.

    “Only 5,000 MegaWatts (MW) of electricity is being generated instead of 9,500 MW,” he said.

    On Monday, residents of Karachi came out on the streets due to the persistent loadshedding in their areas. The protests continued for more than 24 hours.

    Interestingly, the government has pledged to decrease loadshedding several times. Earlier this month, PM Shehbaz instructed the power authorities to reduce loadshedding throughout the country to two hours. However, the situation remained the same.

  • Energy crisis: Sindh govt announces market closures by 9pm

    Energy crisis: Sindh govt announces market closures by 9pm

    The Sindh government announced that all markets, restaurants, marriage halls and hotels will be closed early in order to save electricity. The decision will remain in force from June 17 (today) to July 16.

    According to an official notification by the provincial Home Department, all markets, bazars, shops and malls will close by 9pm. Marriage and banquet halls will close by 10:30pm, while hotels, restaurants, coffee shops and cafes must shut by 11pm. However, the decision is not applicable to medical stores, pharmacies, hospitals, petrol pumps, CNG stations, bakeries and milk shops.

    The notification reads: “The urgent need to take the effective measures for the conservation of energy in Sindh through a two-pronged approach, i.e. to utilise the daylight hours for business activities and minimise the possible adverse impact of the business activities.”

    However, the All Pakistan Trade Union Association has rejected this decision of the provincial government, reports ARY News.

    Pakistan is facing a serious power crisis due to which the government has resorted to load-shedding all over the country.

    Last week, as part of the government’s ongoing measures to manage the energy crisis, the National Economic Council (NEC) agreed on the closure of markets by 8:30pm in all provinces.

    No power in commercial areas in the evening from 7-10pm

    The Power Division has decided to cut supply to commercial feeders from 7pm to 10pm daily across Pakistan, reports Geo News.

    In this regard, the Ministry of Energy has prepared a summary for the cabinet’s approval. According to the media outlet’s sources, the commercial feeders will not face load-shedding during the daytime, which would save approximately 5,000 MegaWatt (MW).

    Earlier, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that a huge amount of electricity can be saved if people start their businesses early in the morning and close by Maghrib prayers. He said that saving electricity means saving oil.