K-Electric faces Sindh Assembly scrutiny over Karachi outages

KARACHI: K-Electric came under scrutiny in the Sindh Assembly as a committee took up complaints of prolonged power cuts in Karachi, with members pressing the utility over its performance.

Aaj News reported that the committee discussed the city's load shedding and possible action against K-Electric's chief executive. The Express Tribune said the power utility "faced assembly heat" during the session. Neither outlet published a detailed account of the proceedings by the time this story was filed.

Karachi, Pakistan's commercial capital and home to more than 20 million people, has been dealing with hours-long unannounced outages. Residents and businesses have repeatedly complained that K-Electric, the sole distributor for the city, has failed to provide reliable supply, especially during peak summer demand.

The Sindh Assembly has previously summoned K-Electric officials over billing and load-shedding complaints, but the issue remains unresolved. Aaj News's headline indicated that the committee's agenda included action against the utility's CEO, though the outlet did not specify whether a summons was issued or a warning was given.

The Express Tribune's report, which was not retrievable in full, gave no additional detail beyond the headline and standfirst. Efforts to reach K-Electric for comment were not immediately possible, and the Sindh Assembly secretariat had not published a notification about the committee's decisions.

The provincial government has faced pressure from Karachi-based politicians and business associations to intervene, as frequent outages disrupt industry, health facilities and public transport. The city's power sector has been a point of contention between the provincial government and the federal government, which oversees the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority.

K-Electric has previously said that load shedding in Karachi reflects fuel supply and transmission constraints rather than a lack of generation capacity. The utility has asked consumers to reduce demand during peak hours and has blamed circular debt for cash flow problems that delay repairs.

The assembly scrutiny comes as Pakistan's broader energy sector struggles with high tariffs, ageing infrastructure and a growing gap between supply and demand. The outcome of the committee meeting will likely determine whether provincial authorities escalate the matter to the regulator or to the federal government.