Karachi power crisis deepens as prolonged outages affect residents

Civil society representatives and rights activists have raised alarms regarding severe electricity outages in Karachi, Pakistan. The prolonged loadshedding is reportedly placing a disproportionate burden on low-income households, disrupting essential activities such as cooking, hygiene, education, and work.

Residents in areas including North Karachi, Nazimabad, and parts of Gulistan-i-Jauhar have reported power cuts lasting between 16 and 24 hours. In Lyari and other old city areas, widespread protests and traffic disruptions occurred during the week of August 24 due to the outages.

According to K-Electric’s schedule, more than 615 feeders are listed for outages of up to 12 hours a day, which could affect approximately one-third of the city’s feeders. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan noted that these shortages are worsening conditions for working-class communities and increasing mental stress. Additionally, activists have questioned whether the privatization of K-Electric has delivered the promised technological and operational improvements.