Karachi:
Members of the SINDH assembly have unanimously condemned the unannounced load that electricity distribution companies K-electric, Hesco and Sepco. Leaders from PPP, MQM, PTI and Jamaat-e-Islami were united in their demand for an immediate end to surprising power cuts.
Despite strong calls from the Special Committee on Energy to reduce load throws, K-electric CEO Moonis Alvi continued to defend the unannounced power outages. The committee expressed strong dissatisfaction with the poor results of the electric companies and ordered a strict ten-day deadline for compliance.
Committee members questioned how the load throwing plan was changed without their approval, especially after the prior insurance that there would be no burden at night. Officials from K-electric, Hesco and SEPCO could not provide satisfactory answers.
In a meeting held on Monday in Sindh Assembly Building and chairman of PPP’s Fayyaz Butt, the Special Committee ordered all electricity companies immediately to stop night load and are strictly adhered to an approved schedule. Sindh -Assembly speaker Owais Qadir Shah also attended the session.
Other participants included PPP leaders Ghulam Qadir Chandio, Asif Musa, Sadia Javed; MQM -Leader Ali Khursheedi; Jamaat-e-Islamis Muhammad Farooq; and senior officials from K-electric, Hesco and SEPCO. K-electric CEO Moonis Alvi apologized for missing the previous meeting.
The committee’s frustration was evident as members criticized the long -standing and unpredictable power outages over Sindh, especially in Karachi. The meeting was tense before the arrival of the K-Electric CEO, where some members threatened to issue a message of show reasons for his absence.
Moonis Alvi was grilled on the legal basis for load. He claimed it was necessary due to line loss, but committee members demanded to know under which the law of such measures has been approved. The officials failed to give a clear legal justification.
MPA from Liaquatabad Moaz Mehboob warned that FIRs should be registered against K-electric officials for illegal load. When ALVI opposed to mentioning electricity theft, Mehboob also expressed his support to crack down on theft.
SINDH Assembly speaker Owais Qadir Shah emphasized that all electricity companies should provide a clear timetable for load. Jamaat-e-Islamis Muhammad Farooq emphasized that the previous agreement banned night load, which questioned how the schedule was changed without committee approval. Alvi defended the need for cuts under heat waves, but Farooq rejected the claim and noted that Karachi’s temperatures had not reached 45 degrees.
The meeting also saw members who expressed frustration over CEO Alvis dismissive attitude. Bilqis Mukhtar criticized him for not taking concern seriously while Sajjad Somro and Sadia Javed asked him to stop using his cellphone repeatedly during the meeting. Sadia also demanded an apology from K-electric officials for disrespectful remarks against an MPA in a previous session, a demand Alvi recognized with an apology on behalf of his institution.
ALVI admitted K-Electric’s failure to fight electricity theft and said there was a need for a stronger action in affected areas, although cutting connections remained a challenge.
