Karachi residents on Tuesday staged protests after they faced 12 hour power outages and water supply cuts on a daily basis, The Express Tribune reported.
They also pointed out that both scheduled and unscheduled load-shedding have significantly disrupted the region’s water supply.
Despite filing numerous complaints with the Water Corporation about the power outage schedule, the protesters claim that no meaningful action has been taken to resolve the ongoing water supply problems.
The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has raised electricity rates for Karachi by Rs 0.40 per unit as part of the monthly adjustment for August 2024.
NEPRA issued a notification confirming that the additional charges will be reflected in consumers’ bills for January 2025, to be collected by K-Electric. Earlier, K-Electric had requested a reduction of Rs 0.16 per unit in power tariffs due to fuel cost adjustments (FCA) for September 2024.
Police were deployed at the protest site to manage the situation and assist affected commuters. In response to the ongoing power outages, the Battagram Trade Union declared a complete shutter-down strike and sit-in starting Tuesday.
The union also announced plans to withhold electricity bill payments until the power supply schedule is normalized and the issue is resolved.