Sindh High Court (SHC) has issued a notice to K-Electric in response to a petition filed by Jamaat-e-Islami, challenging the ongoing load shedding in Karachi amidst severe heatwaves. The court session, presided over by Justice Zulfiqar Ahmed Khan and Justice Mrs. RashidaAsad, reviewed the petition filed by Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi Chief MunimZafar Khan and Vice President and City Council Parliamentary Leader Saifuddin Advocate.
Jamaat-e-Islami’s lawyer, UsmanFarooq Advocate, argued that K-Electric is subjecting the city to severe load shedding during extreme heat, causing significant distress to the residents.
K-Electric’s representative, Barrister AbidZuberi, denied these claims, asserting that no load shedding was being conducted. The court remarked on the troubling situation due to the heatwave and instructed K-Electric to present a plan to mitigate the heatwave’s impact by July 15. The petition calls for uninterrupted electricity supply during heatwaves and contests K-Electric’s claim that 71% of feeders are load shedding-free, stating that technical faults are also K-Electric’s responsibility to fix. It highlights that Karachi faces an average of 16 hours of load shedding daily, including 2 to 4 hours at night, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius.
The petition also notes that hundreds of citizens are hospitalized daily due to the heatwave and stresses that Karachi, being a major revenue contributor to the national treasury, deserves better service. The petition demands that those who pay their bills be exempted from load shedding and that entire feeders should not be shut down due to non-payment by specific households. It references NEPRA’s decision that homes with paid bills should not experience load shedding, urging its enforcement.
