This is what K-Electric promised in their new power surplus policy: the continual fluctuations, load sheddings, and power outages at unconventional hours. The increase in power rates has aggravated people’s stress levels at a time when inflation is at an all-time high and individuals are barely able to make their ends meet.
As K-Electric’s new policy states, it is dedicated to achieving a power surplus in Karachi by 2022 through a number of planned investments throughout the power value chain. This raises the question of whether this so-called power surplus statement and its distribution within Karachi were just made as a public stunt to temporarily silence the people about the failure of K-Electric to adequately supply power within the city. This statement was given on 3rd March 2021 and it is currently mid- August of 2022 which in some aspect proves the above accusation to be correct.
Given their monopoly status in the power supply sector, K-Electric has an unfair amount of power to set prices however they see appropriate without taking into account the severe economic circumstances of our nation. Pakistan already has political, economic, and financial difficulties, which are having a negative impact on its citizens. Thousands of people are left without work as a result of businesses shutting and job losses. When one’s minimal salary covers only half of one’s fundamental needs, individuals turn to all sorts of negative means. Essentially, this is a domino effect that must come to an end.
The majority of manufacturing, exports, and business are conducted in Karachi, an industrial metropolis. Large-scale enterprises are now being impacted by power supply problems. Due to the impossibility of large-scale manufacturing without a reliable power source, the secondary and tertiary industries are those that are most negatively impacted. This has caused manufacturing to be delayed and our exports to be stopped, which is only one of the few ways our nation is able to survive.
We went around interviewing people on the roads of Karachi and this is what they have to say about the power outage in their vicinity. Arshad says “The power and gas cost has been the worse since after paying the bill, I can hardly afford my household rations. I suffer a lot because I have four children and only make 25,000 per month”. Another individual Sonia said “My husband and I both work, and the growing costs of electricity have made it really challenging. Even though we use the power so cautiously, we still receive 10,000 in bills, which equals half of our income. We want our children to pursue their education, but the fees keep rising, and we are at a loss for alternatives”.
These testimonials are from working-class people which make up 70% of our population, K-Electric do you realize you are destroying our people internally? People are on the verge of a breaking point! Why do you think the suicide rates are at such a high? Why have street crimes become so common? Why do we hear kidnapping stories every other day? Yet, K-Electric has the nerve to release a statement that says ‘the economy as a whole will gain from these investments, which are subject to regulatory clearance. KE will also be able to help consumers.
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