KARACHI — Power outages of over 18 hours in Pakistan’s Karachi have been causing significant inconvenience to people during the holy month of Ramadan, local media reported on Thursday.
Citizens have said that they are facing difficulties in fasting, performing their prayers, and even doing other daily activities during Ramadan due to the prolonged power outages and rising temperatures, reports the leading Pakistani daily, The Express Tribune.
The affected citizens are mainly from the poor and middle class in the most areas of the city who face the worst situation due to the load shedding, making the lives of citizens miserable.
Last month, Karachi witnessed major public demonstrations against electricity outages and water scarcity. The people protested due to extended periods without water and electricity.
The protesters set tyres on fire and blocked roads, claiming that the electricity supply had been cut off in their area for four consecutive days.
In 2024, the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) said that the country’s energy sector is in a deep crisis.
According to the PIDE experts, “This crisis is a complex web of perpetual circular debt, ill-conceived independent power producer (IPP) contracts, and outdated tariff design. Persistent power outages, unreliable supplies, rising tariffs, overreliance on non-renewable energy sources, and import dependency have further exacerbated the situation. Pakistan’s per capita energy consumption is significantly below world standards, and energy use is inefficient.”
They also stated that the governance structure within the power sector is responsible for the mess that has multiplied over the years. The efficiency of power distribution companies is heavily influenced by mismanagement, which is centralised at the ministry level.
The power sector’s circular debt has ballooned to Rs2.6 trillion. Regrettably, decision-makers tend to view it mostly as a theft issue, according to a report by the country’s leading daily, Dawn.
Karachi is not the only city that is grappling with the crisis of power shortages. Several cities across Pakistan have been suffering from this persistent problem for a long period of time.
In 2023, nationwide power outages in Pakistan left nearly 220 million people without electricity and plunged several cities into darkness, according to local media reports. — IANS
