KARACHI: Hyderabad business leaders are demanding the outsourcing of the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) due to persistent electricity outages, corruption, and rising tariffs. They cite the company’s inability to provide reliable electricity to commercial and domestic consumers, causing significant disruptions and economic strain.
Consumers are facing eight to ten hours of load shedding, frequent faults, and poor infrastructure, leading to low and high voltage issues, burning of transformers, and extended outages disguised as maintenance. Pseudo-detection bills to cover power theft by Hesco staff have also been reported.
Muhammad Farooq Shaikhani, President of the Hyderabad Chamber of Small Traders and Small Industry, plans to request the federal government to privatize Hesco, citing the company’s poor efficiency and corruption. He highlighted the mass shutdown of units in the Hyderabad Site area due to unreliable power supply, with many considering relocation to Punjab for better infrastructure and lower costs.
Adeel Siddiqui, President of the Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCI), supports privatization if Hesco fails to improve its infrastructure, remove corrupt staff, and ensure uninterrupted power supply. He criticized the company for not addressing overbilling and power theft, exacerbating line losses and causing extended outages.
Business leaders also condemned the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA)’s recent tariff increase, describing it as an unbearable burden on the public amidst an already dire economic situation.
Story by Gohar Ali Khan
