Karachi, June 27: Karachi Electric Supply Company stated that in the evening of June 27, the gas supply to KESC routed from SSGC, was slashed unannounced by 30% without warning.
With this massive curtailment in the gas supply to the sole power utility of the Metropolis, it is feared that the load shedding in the Residential and Commercial Areas of the city, might go up to 14hrs in a day, due to the severely hampered power generation.
KESC also shared that at present its gas supply was reduced to a mere 155mmcfd against the 225mmcfd that it had been receiving as of late. Noteable to mention here is that the gas requirement of KESC to meet the power demands of the city is no less than 400mmcfd and it had anyways been receiving about 50% of its requirement. With this sudden reduction in the gas supply, KESC stated that it might be forced to shed load in the previously exempted Industrial zones of the city, which as per KESC management's policy were exempted from any and all sort of power shedding.
Interesting to note is the fact that just today KESC paid out Rs. 4 Billion to SSGC and a payment of about Rs. 3.5 Billion was made last month. KESC had been maintaining an unchanged load shed regime in the city since the past 6 months, despite the onset of the peak season, which sees the daily power demand of the city, surge in excess of the 2600MW mark.
KESC said, that it hopes, that SSGC will take measures in the best interest of the population of the city, to increase the gas supply to the previous level at the least, so that the load shed regime remains unchanged and the exemption to the industrial zones also be maintained.
