Govt gives 10-day ultimatum to KE to resolve Karachi's power issues

• Sindh governor, Energy Minister Hammad Azhar meet to discuss Karachi loadshedding issue. 
• Govt warns KE of "extreme step" if Karachi's issues aren't resolved. 
• Energy minister allows 400 megawatts to be supplied to KE's system from national grid. 

KARACHI: The federal government has issued a dire warning to the Karachi-Electric (KE) to resolve the power woes of the city, warning it of an "extreme step" otherwise. 

Federal Energy Minister Hammad Azhar met Sindh Governor Imran Ismail on Wednesday to discuss prolonged hours of loadshedding in Karachi, as per a report on The News. 

Federal secretaries of finance and energy attended the meeting as well, according to a press release issued by the Governor House. 

Giving the KE a 10-day ultimatum to resolve Karachi's power issues, the meeting warned that the federal government would be left with no option but to take an "extreme step" in case the lives of the people of Karachi continued to remain disturbed due to prolonged power cuts.

"We have decided to grant an additional 200MW to Karachi," said the energy minister later, adding that the government was already providing an additional 350MW to the metropolis. 

On Tuesday, the Jamaat-e-Islami’s Karachi chapter had set a three-day deadline for the KE over prolonged power outages in the city amid the sweltering heat in the city.

“After the deadline, in case the KE fails to rectify its mistake, protests across the city will be held under a coordinated protest drive against the nexus of the government, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, and the KE,” JI Karachi chief Hafiz Naeem Ur Rehman had warned, while addressing a press conference at Idara-e-Noor Haq.

Prolonged power cuts in Karachi have made the lives miserable of residents of the city since the past week, 

Korangi’s Gulshan-e-Millat and Gulshan-e-Iqbal Block I and a vast area of District Korangi was without power for a few days over the past week. 

Residents of North Karachi and Surjani Town have also complained of frequent power outages over the past couple of days. 

Other areas that suffered prolonged power outages last week included Gulshan-e-Maymar, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Malir, Saddar, Nazimabad and Gulshan-e-Iqbal.