Court orders NEPRA to take action against K-Electric
The SHC bench had reserved its verdict after Monday’s proceedings on a petition filed by social activist Karamat Ali
May 30, 2017
KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) ordered on Tuesday the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) to take action against K-Electric with regard to unannounced load shedding.
The two-member bench, headed by Justice Irfan Saadat Khan, also ordered Nepra to take all legal actions against K-Electric, adding that the city’s sole power utility should also follow Nepra’s orders.
On January 22, 2016, Nepra had made area-wise load shedding illegal yet load shedding was ongoing in the port city.
The SHC bench had reserved its verdict after Monday’s proceedings on a petition filed by social activist Karamat Ali on unannounced load shedding by power utility.
On Monday, the petitioner's lawyer, Faisal Siddiqui, said an entire area should not be deprived of electricity if one person defaults on paying the bills. He added that even if it is the matter of theft, the person committing the crime should bear the brunt of the power cuts, not those in the adjoining houses.
Officials of the power utility were also present at the hearing.
In 2014, the Supreme Court of Pakistan had ordered the power utility to not cut-off power supply during Ramazan, the lawyer maintained. But regardless, 80% of the areas in Karachi were in the dark during sehri on the first day of Ramazan this year.
The court then reserved its decision and will announce it later in the day.
On May 24, SHC Justice Irfan Saadat Khan, heading the bench, had come down hard on the city's sole power utility, saying they will not sit idle while unannounced load shedding continues to cause distress to residents.
