Pakistan: 12-hour outages, ‘kunda’ connections disrupting lives in Karachi

Pakistan: Extended power outages and electricity theft in nearby areas have worsened the hardships faced by residents of North Karachi.

Karachi residents are grappling with extended power outages amid rampant electricity theft, exacerbating daily hardships, particularly in the North Karachi region, local media reported. According to The Express Tribune, some households endure up to 12 hours of power cuts each day, disrupting lives in one of Pakistan’s largest cities.

File photo of residents sleeping on a building pavement, to escape heat and frequent power outage in their residence area in Karachi, Pakistan. (Akhtar Soomro / REUTERS)

Local residents such as Muhammad Tariq, Farooq Khan, and Babar detailed the grim schedule of power outages: electricity is cut between 7:00 am and 8:30 am, again from 9:30 am to 12:00 pm, and later from 2:30 pm to 5:00 pm. Evenings bring little relief, with blackouts from 7:00 pm to 10:30 pm, in addition to unscheduled outages that can strike at any time.

This dire situation affects many of North Karachi’s labourers, who return home after long working hours only to face electricity cuts in scorching temperatures. The interruptions stretch into the night, with electricity often being restored after 1:30 am.

As a result, residents are forced to stay up until the early hours of the morning to complete essential tasks like refilling water supplies, leaving them exhausted for the next day. Children, too, are unable to complete their homework during outages.

Electricity theft in Karachi

Adding to their woes, illegal electricity connections are common in the area. Criminal elements have taken advantage of the power utility’s weaknesses, supplying electricity illegally, known as “kunda”, to over 250 homes. These operators reportedly charge hefty fees for the service, demanding an upfront payment of PKR 10,000 and monthly fees of PKR 3,000.

Karachi Electric (KE), the city's primary utility provider, has struggled with ageing infrastructure and mismanagement. Although steps have been made to mitigate the issues: financing new electrical facilities, implementing new regulations, etc., these steps more often than not take time before being fully put into place and completed.

With ANI inputs