Karachi/Lahore. Many residents of the city of lights – Karachi – have been without electricity for more than six hours a day, amid the heatwave alert issued by the Pakistan Meteorological Department.

Some citizens complain that six to nine hours of load shedding is routine in their areas. Power outages also affect the water service in colonies as pumps run on electricity.

While, unusually high demand for electricity has been witnessed this summer due to the increase in temperatures, according to K-Electric (KE).

Liaquatabad, Golimar, Gulbahar, PIB Colony, Surjani Town, Orangi Town, Banaras, Safora, Johar, and Old City areas are experiencing six to nine hours of load shedding.

In a series of tweets, KE spokesperson Imran Rana said the city was undergoing power outages as per schedule while denying “rumours” of 14-hour spells of load shedding.

“No load shedding in areas with less than 20% loss. Load shedding is also not being done on about 400 industrial feeders. In Landhi, Buffalo Colony and some other areas, some connections were disconnected due to non-payment,” he added.

Punjab

The demand for electricity in Lahore and cities under the Lahore Electric Supply Corporation (LESCO) has increased from 4,400MW to 4,700MW, leading to unannounced load shedding in the city.

The demand for electricity has increased by 300MW per day, said LESCO. Lahore and its suburbs were without electricity for two to three hours, while cities such as Sheikhupura, Gujranwala, Qasur, and Patuki were also without power for three to four hours during the day.

These hours of load shedding are only being followed in areas that report high feeder loses while some areas have also experienced technical faults and other issues because of the increased load on the system.