ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has issued a stern warning to K-Electric over persistent and excessive loadshedding in Karachi, particularly during peak summer months, calling the situation unacceptable and detrimental to both public welfare and the economy.
In a letter addressed to the CEO of K-Electric, Nepra expressed grave concern over widespread public complaints, with several areas reportedly facing over 12 hours of outages daily—each lasting between 2.5 to 3 hours. The regulator noted that these power disruptions are severely affecting residents, worsening law and order, and crippling commercial and economic activity in Pakistan’s largest city.
Nepra criticized the declining performance of K-Electric, citing rising transmission and distribution (T\&D) losses and reduced recovery rates. Of particular concern was the drop in loadshedding-free zones, from 76% to 70%, trailing even some public-sector power distributors.
The regulator also pointed out that despite access to cheaper electricity from the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC)—with a capacity of up to 1,600MW—K-Electric is not fully utilizing this resource. Instead, it continues with extended outages while running its own plants inefficiently, passing higher costs to consumers.
Nepra stressed that K-Electric’s core responsibility is to reduce T\&D losses and improve recoveries without punishing paying customers through feeder shutdowns. It warned that such mismanagement undermines public confidence in privatisation and violates both legal and ethical standards of utility service.
Story by Khaleeq Kiani
