JI demands Nepra action over up to 18 hours of power load-shedding

KARACHI: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) on Saturday demanded immediate action by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) against K-Electric over prolonged loadshedding of up to 18 hours a day in some localities, including areas exempted from power cuts.

JI Karachi chief Monem Zafar condemned the increase in power outages on the pretext of gas shortages, terming it oppression of Karachiites. He said residents were being punished for the utility’s incompetence and poor performance, while entire neighbourhoods faced power cuts over electricity theft and non-payment of bills by some consumers.

He said some localities were experiencing 14 hours of daily loadshedding under the guise of load management, while others faced up to 18 hours of outages in the name of aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses. Even areas exempted from loadshedding were now facing power cuts, adding to public suffering.

“It is K-Electric’s responsibility to catch those who steal electricity. If two or three per cent of people in an area are not paying their bills, why is the entire population being punished?” Monem Zafar questioned and said that K-Electric had failed to provide uninterrupted electricity despite 20 years of privatisation. He accused the utility of collecting more than Rs70 billion from regular bill-paying consumers on the pretext of non-payment through what he described as fake and bogus bills, while continuing prolonged loadshedding.

He also questioned the utility’s performance despite receiving more than Rs125 billion annually in subsidies. He said K-Electric was violating Nepra rules by subjecting entire localities and regular bill-paying consumers to collective punishment instead of taking action against power thieves and defaulters. The JI leader said Karachiites were already paying the country’s highest electricity rates, with bills linked to furnace oil prices. Despite the high cost, consumers were being deprived of an uninterrupted power supply, he added.

He further accused K-Electric of relying on the national grid instead of operating its own power plants at full capacity. Whenever electricity supply from the grid fell short or was interrupted, the company suspended power to consumers, Monem Zafar demanded a forensic audit of K-Electric, immediate regulatory action against the utility and the provision of affordable, uninterrupted electricity to Karachi directly from the national grid.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026