As Karachi continues to battle extreme heat, residents are suffering through 12 to 14 hours of severe loadshedding daily. Despite this, K-Electric’s spokesperson has controversially claimed that 70% of the city is exempt from loadshedding.
Both scheduled and unscheduled power cuts have become routine in various areas of the city. Electricity is being shut off for hours under the pretext of technical faults, while traditional loadshedding continues unabated.
Among the worst-affected areas are Old City Area, Mauripur, Lines Area, Surjani, Model Colony, Malir, Landhi, Korangi, Allah Wala Town, Orangi Town, New Karachi, North Karachi, City Railway Colony, Jama Cloth Market, and Liaquatabad—where outages have reached up to 14 hours a day.
Residents complain that even though they regularly pay their electricity bills, they remain without power for hours each day. Power disruptions labeled as maintenance work, followed by routine load shedding, have made daily life unbearable.
They further added that every week, power is cut for 12 hours under the guise of “maintenance work,” while the loadshedding schedule continues to be enforced regardless.
K-Electric’s Response
K-Electric’s spokesperson stated that uninterrupted power supply is provided to feeders where full bill payments are made, and that free electricity provision is not possible.
He claimed that 70% of the city’s commercial markets are linked to loadshedding-free feeders, including Mobile Market, Electronics Market, Empress Road, Lucky Star, Bolton Market, Lighthouse, Zainab Market, and Abdullah Haroon Road.
Additionally, Tariq Road, Saddar Bazaar, Daudpota Road, and Kharadar are also said to be in loadshedding-free zones. The spokesperson added that 30% of the network experiences loadshedding due to electricity theft and non-payment of bills.
However, this statement appears inconsistent with KE’s loadshedding schedule, as its mobile app lists 11-hour outages in many parts of the city.
Sources confirm that KE does not possess an automated system to disconnect only defaulters. As a result, entire feeders are shut down, affecting paying consumers along with defaulters.
