Time to close shop
Small traders and shopkeepers are under severe economic pressure especially after the 8'o'clock deadline
By Shahid Husain
The authorities at the ailing utility Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) appear to be completely oblivious of the plight of the 15 million people of the city who are condemned to tolerate sweltering heat varying between 40-42 degrees centigrade amid load-shedding for hours during night as well as the day.

Power of production
Alternative sources of energy are not readily available for agriculture and only partially come to the aid of industry
By Aoun Sahi
The manufacturing industry of Pakistan is faced with a crisis-like situation these days. The situation is almost the same in the agriculture sector, especially in areas totally dependent on electrically-run tube wells. The government has devised a plan for load management and energy conservation that, according to officials, will help save on 500 megawatts while the rest of the shortage will be met through load-shedding.

Profits of doom
The offices of both local and multinational corporations are experiencing profit-shedding
By Aziz Omar
The critical investment that injects the necessary boost in the economy is provided, in a large part, by the corporate sector. The associated companies further rely on a web of offices and their resident employees to deliver the required services. Hence it is crucial the infrastructure upon which the commercial organisations are dependent be up-to-date and reliable.

City without lights
Life becomes unbearable for residents in Karachi. An ordinary day's account of a working woman who wants to run away from it all...
By Sabeen Jamil
I am a working woman. I get to work at 9am and stay there till 10pm. Even after that I don't really want to leave my workplace and go home. Not because I have a horrible husband or irritating siblings waiting to get on my nerves nor am I an over ambitious working woman striving to get double bonus in 6 months. Actually I can't brave the hot, humid, electricity-less days and nights which is a routine in summers in Karachi. For people elsewhere this might sound strange but they have to experience summers in Karachi to appreciate what I am saying.

This too is a power related crisis and once again people feel they were kept in the dark. With the load-shedding of the proportion it currently is, they are still in the dark -- for at least some part of the night, if not all.

The government says this is an energy conservation or load management plan that is going to last for three weeks after which rivers -- of electricity -- will start flowing again. It began by proposing a two day holiday and then thought better of it. The plan B -- that's operational now -- requires all markets and shopping malls and wedding halls to close shop early, the industrial sector not to run its units during peak hours and the agricultural sector not to run tube-wells from 10 pm to 6 am.

But the maximum utility of electricity, we are told, is in the residential sector. And that's where the true benefits of load-shedding are reaped.

For this Special Report, we decided to ignore the supply-side concerns for a bit and decided to focus on how the power shortage affects consumers in various sectors. For a resident in Karachi, April to July is like hell, when there's no power and hence no water. For markets and food suppliers, it's only a tale of loss. For farmers, the day-time restriction on running tube wells is unfair. The industry of course is not taking it lying down. It already has found alternatives and is looking for more, though the peak time restriction is still restrictive.

The government may like to call it load-shedding but it's the people who are bearing this load. And they're cursing whoever they can for it rather badly.

The government has finally announced an energy conservation and load management plan for the next three weeks under which markets and shopping malls in big cities would have to close early at night. Under the same plan, the industrial sector has been asked to not to run its units during peak hours and the agricultural sector offered incentive if it runs tube-wells from 10 pm to 6 am.

The reason cited for taking this decision is that the country faces a shortage of 978 megawatts (MW) of electricity and this could jump to 1,500 MW in the next three weeks. The current demand for electricity is 15,476 MW while the generation capacity is 14,498 MW. It is expected that the recently launched load management plan would help save some 500 MW and the rest of the shortage would be met through load-shedding. The government also feels content to have got an understanding from the industrial sector that it would reduce its load demand by 25 per cent in the evening. This way the electricity unconsumed by the industry could be used to minimise the length of load-shedding in big cities.

Sources in the power ministry say this shortage was not at all expected during the month of April. In fact, the average temperatures during this month were five degrees higher than those recorded in the same month last year. This increased the demand for power by 10 per cent as compared to that recorded in April 2006, they add.

It is hoped that the situation would improve after three weeks as river flows are expected to increase due to snow melting and availability of power generation. But this does not mean that this shortage is temporary. In fact, the power crisis is getting severer and severer with the passage of time with increase in its demand every year.

In a press conference, Water and Power Secretary Ashfaq Mehmood has termed the rise in electricity demand 'prosperity-driven'. To substantiate his point, he said that some 750,000 air conditioners had been installed in the last few years apart from other electrical appliances. Besides, 13,000 villages had been electrified in 2006 and another 10,400 villages were being electrified under the Village Electrification Programme up to April this year. In addition to this, around 30,000 tubewell connections had already been given during the current year.

What Ashfaq says is very much supported by the Economic Survey of Pakistan 2005-2006 that says the number of electricity consumers has increased over the years due to rapid extension of electric supply to villages and fast urbanisation. It says the number of consumers has increased to 15.6 million, up to March 2006, from 14.9 million in 2004-05. This shows an increase of 5 per cent in the number of consumers over the last year and a growth of 64 per cent since 1995-96.

While the number of consumers has increased by 5 per cent in a year, the same survey says that the total installed capacity of electricity generation increased to 19,439 MW in 2005-06 from 19,389 MW the previous year, showing a marginal increase of 0.3 per cent. This hints at the fact that this demand-supply gap is going to increase every year. This issue is also highlighted in public speeches by the ruling elite who want to go ahead with building of large water reservoirs in the coming years. To make matters worse, the Ministry for Water and Power has announced that there would not be any increase in power generation capacity in the country before 2008.

Before talking about solutions, we must look at the existing power generation and distribution set-up in the country. So far, there are four main public sector organisations involved in power generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in the country. These are the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC), Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP) and Chashma Nuclear Power Plant. However, the Independent Power Projects (IPPs) are involved in power generation only.

The total installed capacity of WAPDA stood at 11,363 MW during July-March 2005-06. "Of this, hydel accounts for 56.9 per cent or 6,463 MW, thermal accounts for 43.1 per cent or 4,900 MW, followed by the IPPs 5,858 MW or 30.1 per cent, KESC's (1,756 MW) or 9.0 per cent and nuclear 462 MW of the total installed capacity. The share of WAPDA system stood at 58.5 per cent followed by the IPPs at 30.1 per cent, KESC at 9.0 per cent, and nuclear at 2.4 per cent," says the Economic Survey 2005-2006.

There is no denying the fact that the household sector can play the most effective role in conserving energy. It is estimated that 1700 MW of electricity can be saved if every consumer switches off one 100 watts bulb. Wapda findings say that the household sector has been the largest consumer of electricity, accounting for 44.3 per cent of total electricity consumption in the country, followed by industrial (29.1 per cent), agriculture (12.8 per cent), other government sector (7.3 per cent), commercial (5.8 per cent), and street lights (0.6 per cent).

While there are advocates of large dams and other long-term projects, bodies like the Alternative Energy Development are mulling options to exploit renewable energy options in the country. The board claims that 800 MW electricity would be produced by 2010 with the help of renewable sources such as wind energy, thanks to private investment coming into this sector. There are some who advocate nuclear power generation but there are others who reject the idea on grounds that it involves too high first-time costs.

The government has pinned a lot of hopes on its Vision-2025 project. Under the project, it plans to commission projects like setting up gas turbines at GTPS Shahdara that would produce 80 MW electricity, getting 50 MW from sugar mills and 100 MW from wind mill project besides several other similar projects.

An encouraging fact is that the Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB) is currently processing 53 projects having a combined capacity of 13,862 MW. Out of these projects, PPIB has so far issued Letters of Interest (LOI) for 25 projects worth 5,447 MW and estimated cost of US$ 7093 million to private parties. These projects include thirteen (13) gas based/dual fired, nine (9) hydro, two coal-based and one project based on indigenous oil.

Food business, like others, runs on electricity. Urban dwellers all over the country are hooked on to the diverse food items and restaurants. The ever growing businesses have multiplied the number of bakeries, cafes and restaurants everywhere. But the power crisis has not spared the taste buds of the people.

Like other classes the business community is also classified into two sections. The well-to-do food chains and restaurants in the posh areas are coping with the crisis in their own way, through their resources and revenue. The not-so-well-off businessmen suffer most. Consistent power cuts in all the areas have severely affected the food business in the city.

Khurram M. Khan, Director Operations at Subway M.M. Alam Road Lahore, believes: "The middle-class business man is most hard-hit. We have generators and when there is no electricity we handle the situation through our own resource. Middle-class earner is the most hard hit. Government keeps on promising that it will make small dams to meet the electricity shortfall but we haven't seen any yet."

On the issue if the market activity -- shops closing down at 8 or a little later -- will affect food business or not he said, "Market activity definitely affects us also. If people don't go out and there is no market activity our business definitely goes down."

Since ice-cream needs to be preserved at a particular temperature, it requires larger machinery meaning more electricity. Saqib Khalid, an ice-cream parlour owner said: "Ours is a very small place and there is minimum consumption of electricity because we also try to save our price. But we have generators here". Regardless of the area it is the consumption of energy and the nature of work that matters. Asked about people who can't afford generators he replied. "It means they are selling expired ice-cream."

Only few ice-cream parlours can afford generators and the most popular alternative for ice-cream is falooda. Azher Iqbal owns a falooda shop in Lahore's Gulshan-e-Ravi. It is a very small shop, big enough for Azher to stand and his counter. He owns a few small ice-cream making machines. "Summer is usually the best time for sale as it is very hot and the falooda I sell is cheap. Electricity problem is there every summer. With no electricity for so many hours I can't just sit and wait. But I also can't afford a freezer so I have to pay the bigger stores next to my shop that keep freezers."

Other than bigger shops in posh areas, smaller businesses suffer most in this regard. Tariq Anwer who runs a small meat shop in Lahore's Moon Market said, "Our business is affected badly by electricity load-shedding. There is no electricity here for most part of the day. We only have one big freezer here but we don't normally need it because we don't use frozen meat. The freezer is used for red meat. With no electricity in this area people think that the meat is not good so they prefer to buy it little expensive but from shops where they have generators. It is worse because these big meat shops that are opening everywhere are destroying us."

Nasir Malik owns a small bakery in largely middle class locality Samanabd. According to him electricity in the areas comes at the whims of WAPDA. "There is no schedule in this area. There's a power breakdown every hour. I have a contract with an expert lady who makes all the confectionary items. She uses electric ovens. With no electricity she is not able to bring my material on time. So we both suffer." He said that so many shop owners he knows steal electricity but no one stops or questions them. "It is because of people like them that we suffer most", he added.

There are several small bakeries in the smaller areas with perishable items that need to be kept at a certain temperature. Their business suffers tremendously. They lose both money and material. Moreover, people who are associated with this business but don't sit in the market, like the supplier, also suffer from persistent load-shedding. When unable to make deliveries on time they have to deliver at lower prices.

Just two years after the federal minister for power 'boasted' about having 2000 megawatts (MW) of surplus electricity, power failures have become an emerging source of business disruption. The phenomenon has not only been observed in third world countries like ours but has also afflicted countries like South Africa and UK. A recent survey conducted by SunGard Availability Services has revealed that with the percentage of power failures rising to 26, business disruptions due to breakdowns have increased by 350 per cent during the last year in Britain!

Though in Pakistan, whose electricity demand is increasing at a rate of seven per cent annually, no such surveys are conducted (maybe due to a fear of a backlash from the general public), there's still ample evidence that the power breakdowns that are increasing every year, have badly hit economic and commerce activities. Businesses, both small and large have been affected alike.

Rehman, who has an electrical appliances shop on Lahore's Hall Road says, "I opened my shop on Monday hoping to do better business than the last few weeks (since we had to keep our shops closed because of the lawyers' protests on the Mall Road). But it was just wishful thinking on my part. We experience numerous breakdowns during the day, averaging at least two hours each day, which affect our sales. The situation is bound to get worse in the coming months. The Hall Road is an electronics market. How can we function without any electricity?"

Babar Ali, President Hall Road Traders agrees. He told TNS that all traders complain about the disruptions that the outages have caused to their businesses since all they deal in are DVDs, TVs, sound systems and other electrical appliances. "How can they satisfy the customer and ensure a good sale if the buyers cannot even test the equipment? The authorities should think about businesses like ours that are completely dependent on electric power."

Ferozpur Road that is one of the largest markets in Lahore with big businesses like sanitary fittings, jewellery and marble fares no better. The president of the Anjuman-e-Taajiran, Lahore, Mehboob Ali Sirki says that with power failures amounting to four hours daily, 35-45 per cent business disruption has been observed in the past few weeks alone. "We make a schedule based on eight hours of work. Yet, out of those eight, we are able to work only four hours per day. This means that the orders can't be fulfilled on time and also a compromise on the quality of the marble products."

Sirki adds that the power failures discourage potential buyers from shopping during summers. "Most of our customers in Ichhra are women. The heat already makes things difficult. Since very few shops have air conditioners, load-shedding doesn't make things any better." Shaheen Bibi, a regular shopper, agrees. She says that she is reluctant to go out and shop during the afternoon because of the heat and that the breakdowns make it all the more difficult. She adds that such failures 'spoil' the whole shopping experience.

Tailors are another party dissatisfied (to put it mildly) with the load shedding hours. "There is no electricity for almost two hours each day," says Omer Hayat, a tailor based in Liberty. "This has resulted in a delay in meeting the deadlines of my customers. Needless to say my customers are very upset and angry with me. But still I think I am doing better than my counterparts in Karachi, some of who have no power for 5-6 hours and others almost 10 hours daily."

Yet the loss of customers is not the only thing that is of great concern to all traders, dealers and shopkeepers. There is an additional danger of thefts, especially when outages occur after sunset. According to Jibraeel Qamar Butt, the vice chairman of Qaumi Tajir Ittehad (QTI), Liberty "Mobile snatchers, pick pockets and small time thieves are ready to pounce on unsuspecting victims if there's a breakdown after maghrib. This has resulted in a certain degree of reluctance on part of the customers to shop after dark. A few instances of small scale jewellery thefts have also occurred."

Ilyas Siddiqui, a retailer based in Rang Mahal concurs. He says that since the shops in Rang Mahal and the adjoining Shah Alami open at around two in the afternoon and remain open until late night, the risk of thefts and robberies during load-shedding hours is a major worrying cause for those doing business.

So what about the 45 per cent increase in sales of uninterrupted power suppliers (UPS) that has been recorded in Karachi alone and the 48 per cent increase in import of power generating machineries in July-February 2006-2007 (according to the data of Federal Bureau of Statistics)? Everyone from Khan to Siddiqui agrees that generators cannot be afforded by everyone, especially by people running small shops or businesses. "The smoke thus emitted and the noise are also reasons that many small businessmen, especially those operating in closed shopping areas like Ichhra and Rang Mahal, don't buy generators," says Ilyas Siddiqui. Sirki adds that the machinery that is used for cutting and polishing marble cannot run on generators and UPS.

Director Public Relations, Wapda, Abid Saeed says that the authorities are trying to do everything that they can to ensure minimum damage to business in markets. "That is why we have scheduled four half-hour outages throughout the day. The claim that we didn't take the shopkeepers into confidence is false. The chairman had many discussions with representatives of various markets."

The authorities at the ailing utility Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) appear to be completely oblivious of the plight of the 15 million people of the city who are condemned to tolerate sweltering heat varying between 40-42 degrees centigrade amid load-shedding for hours during night as well as the day.

With a demand of 2250MW and a shortfall of 350-400MW, the newly appointed KESC Managing Director Lt Gen (retd) Syed Muhammad Amjad has found a strange panacea for saving energy: Closing shops at 9pm. However, traders and shopkeepers have reacted sharply over this decision. Interestingly, even if the shops are closed at 9pm, the KESC would only be able to save 75-80MW!

Initially, it was announced that all shops would be closed by 8pm. But on behalf of traders and shopkeepers, President Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Majid Aziz negotiated with the Governor Sindh, Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ibad and a consensus was reached according to which shops were allowed to remain open up to 9pm from Monday to Friday, and up to 11pm on Saturdays. The markets have also been allowed to remain open on Sundays.

Aziz said that the industrialists had assured the governor that they would cut down on the consumption of electricity in view of a shortfall, but he feared that the measures adopted by the utility to close shops would badly affect the small traders.

"Small traders and shopkeepers are under severe economic pressure, especially at this point of time. Hence the decision to close down shops early is tantamount to hurting the shopkeepers severely," he said.

"We have officially appreciated the extension in the timing of the closure of shops by one hour but we know that the shopkeepers will suffer."

Shopkeepers, whose business is at stake, are more vocal.

"There are 360 markets in Karachi and every market has at least 50 shops and every shop on an average has five salesmen. Every shop will incur a loss of 10,000 rupees if the markets are closed at 9pm," claims Abdul Majid, General Secretary, All Pakistan Organisation of Small Traders and Cottage Industry, talking to TNS.

"In summers, people prefer to go for shopping in the evening. Early closure of shops and continuous load-shedding during the day is keeping the buyers away and their number has dropped significantly. Shop owners have no option left but to lay off salesmen in the absence of buyers," he says.

"About 25 per cent salesmen in these markets have been rendered jobless due to load-shedding, and the percentage is likely to increase because KESC bosses say that the situation will persist till July."

According to Majid, "Instead of closing shops and markets, the authorities should ban the import of air conditioners and check the excessive use of electricity in marriage halls," a suggestion endorsed by experts, too.

Mohammad Nauman, Associate Professor NED University of Engineering and Technology, and a senior electrical engineer, seconds Majid. "About 25 per cent load on the system is due to air-conditioning that needs to be banned. At the most, one unit can be allowed per family to cater to the need of elderly people. There is a need to switch off street lights and neon signs. There is also no need of unnecessary lights outside the shops."

But the real problem lies in the myopic policy of the authorities who are not only unable to foresee the crises due to a host of factors but are also indifferent to the plight of the people.

"Rehabilitation and augmentation of transmission system (transmission lines and grid stations) was not done adequately. The private management failed to invest sufficient funds for bringing new generating units or rehabilitation and augmentation," adds Nauman.

"This is despite the fact that KESC received Rs 13 billion worth stores and also recovered billions of rupees in arrears from previous defaulters. Probably, it utilised the money and did not invest a penny. It claims that it has refurbished the Bin Qasim generating plants and the capacity has increased to 1200MW but this did not happen."

The state of the transmission and the distribution system of KESC, a profitable utility in yesteryear, could be gauged from the fact that 400MW are lost out of every 2000MW as a result of overloading the system.

The outgoing CEO of KESC, Frank Scherschmidt, an engineer by profession, tried to contain the leakages but was unceremoniously sacked and replaced by a general with no experience to run a power utility.

As the city of lights plunges into darkness during the night intermittently and many a time during the day that has also led to riots in lower middle class localities of Liaquatabad and Baldia Town where the angry mob pelted stones at vehicles and burnt tyres; their complaint being that these areas are without electricity for eight-odd hours. The riots are likely to continue in a charged atmosphere.

The manufacturing industry of Pakistan is faced with a crisis-like situation these days. The situation is almost the same in the agriculture sector, especially in areas totally dependent on electrically-run tube wells. The government has devised a plan for load management and energy conservation that, according to officials, will help save on 500 megawatts while the rest of the shortage will be met through load-shedding.

The suggested plan includes proposals such as asking farmers to use their tube wells during night time -- from 10pm to 6am -- while the government has also suggested the industry owners to minimise their operations during peak hours and to arrange their own sources of electricity generation. As for farmers, the government has announced 75 paisa per KW concession from 10pm to 6am for tube wells. For this purpose, according to Liaqat Jatoi, Federal Minister for Water & Power, farmers should get time-out metres.

Federal Secretary for Water & Power, Ashfaq Mahmood says that the purpose of this step is to encourage farmers to operate their tube wells during off-peak hours or in the morning. The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has already notified lower tariffs for off-peak hours for farmers. "This will benefit farmers and save some 100 MW of electricity," the secretary adds.

Farmers, especially of paddy cultivation areas, reject the government plans as impractical. "The paddy cultivation season is on, and we cannot risk stopping tube wells for one hour, let alone for eight to ten hours a day," said Shabbir Husain, a farmer from a small village of Sialkot, talking to TNS.

The paddy fields, Shabbir added, need to be constantly flooded with water, otherwise the whole crop is destroyed.

The poor farmer said that even the suggested time limit (10pm to 6am) was not manageable since there were frequent electricity shutdowns in the area. "We've long been hearing about time-out metres to be provided to farmers, but no one has received any such thing so far."

According to Federal Secretary for Water & Power, all WAPDA distribution companies (DISCOs) have already consulted industrial consumers and asked the industries to reduce their load demand by 25 per cent in the evening so that this electricity can be used as backup to minimise load-shedding. But, the industry people say that it is impossible for them to cut back on their operations. This also is the reason why most of them have already shifted to the alternative means of electricity.

Arif Bhatti, Manager Style Textile, Raiwind Road, Lahore, told TNS that in 2002, due to perpetual load-shedding the factory had to install a gas generator worth millions of rupees. Today, most of the factory workings are carried out through the electricity produced by this generator.

"It is cheap, compared to what we get from WAPDA, but the installation cost is very high," he said.

However, the problem, according to Arif Bhatti, does not end here. "The WAPDA rates of gas and electricity for factories are three times higher than what they are for the domestic consumer. Yet, the industry is the first to suffer in the event of a shortage of gas and electricity in the country.

"Last summer, when there was a shortage of Sui gas, most industrial units operating on gas generators were asked to shift to other means. Likewise, today, when there is an electricity shortage, we are being asked to look for alternatives," he continued.

According to Arif, more than 90 per cent of the industrialists he knows have installed gas generators in their factories to avoid stoppage of operations due to load-shedding.

The situation is worse in Karachi where the Sui gas authorities have already stopped the industry to shift its operations on gas generators, and the industry people are being forced to use diesel generators as an alternative source of electricity during load-shedding hours.

According to Mustafa Zahid, Director Unicorn Group of industries, the cost of setting up a factory in Karachi has gone up by at least 30 per cent due to the shortage of electricity. "Now, the installation of expensive generators to meet power demand in factories is a necessity.

"We, in our factory, have a 500 KV, a 425 KV, a 165 KV and two 300 KV diesel generators as alternative ways to meet our power demand. If we have a dependable source of electricity from the government side, we do not need to spend heavy amounts on purchasing generators."

More than 35 per cent of electricity needs in his factory are being met through these generators. There is some consolation in that although "diesel generators are very expensive, they are dependable."

Still, the problems are not over for people like Mustafa Zahid. "It is true that I have arranged an alternative electricity source for main factory units, but we have to get supporting products from markets from small producers and most of them do not have generators. So, at the end of the day, we still have to suffer."

Chaudhry Zaka Ashraf, owner of Zaka Sugar Mills, who introduced the idea of producing electricity with the help of 'bagasse', spoke to TNS about no development being made on the issue.

He said that he had suggested the government to follow an Australian model in this regard. In Australia, according to him, the sugar industry and the government have initiated a joint venture under which the government provides a high pressure technology power house while the industry provides bagasse.

"On an average, each sugar mill there is producing 60 to 70 megawatts of electricity under the project," he continued.

The Ministry of Water & Power data shows that around 13,000 villages were electrified in 2006 and another 10,400 villages under the Village Electrification Programme up to April this year. On the other hand, 30,000 new tube well connections have also been provided so far this year.

Zaka said that on the one hand Pakistan was facing electricity shortage, while on the other hand the government was announcing thousands of new villages to be electrified.

The critical investment that injects the necessary boost in the economy is provided, in a large part, by the corporate sector. The associated companies further rely on a web of offices and their resident employees to deliver the required services. Hence it is crucial the infrastructure upon which the commercial organisations are dependent be up-to-date and reliable.

Furthermore, an integral part of the facilitating network is the electrical power distribution system. In the face of the now imminent power shortage crisis and the resultant load-shedding, the offices of both local and multinational corporations are experiencing profit-shedding.

Unilever Pakistan has grown into the world's most successful consumer goods company. However, its operations in Pakistan, especially in Karachi have not escaped the clutches of the worst electricity shortage crises to hit the country. Mr. Qaysar Alam, Director of Supply Chain and Manufacturing stated that although their offices had their own generators and backup power systems, the increased cost of electricity consumption has had a significant effect on the company's profit margins.

"Yet, we cannot pass on the additional expenses to the consumers in the form of increased prices of our products, as that will adversely affect our sales," asserted Alam. Nevertheless, he claimed that the brunt of buying power from private companies was mainly on the manufacturing side. Hence, he hinted at his company taking the drastic step of importing cheaper, partially processed raw materials instead of bearing their higher local production cost.

As it turns out, the capital city has not yet been plagued by the hide-and-seek playing power supply. Ovex Technologies is one of the largest BPO companies and provides offshore services to overseas clients. Azfar Jafri, who is the Director of Information Technology & Infrastructure at Ovex Technologies, expressed little concern for any major hindrance in his company's operations or additional backup power consumption costs. "All our supplementary power needs are adequately met with our diesel-run generators." Jafri further asserted that due to the as yet little load-shedding in Islamabad along with the low cost of diesel, the company can absorb the expense of consuming backup power with relative ease.

Based on Jafri's comments, this may be true as far as the running cost goes. But with the considerable cost of the installation of alternative power generation systems, only companies with a substantial budget are able to avail this facility.

Ijaz speaking on behalf of Nestle Pakistan's operations in Lahore clearly stated that the current state of power shortage crisis had not had a significant negative impact on his company. All cooling systems and computer related hardware can be supported from the backup power technologies. Diesel powered generators once again have proved to be a blessing in this organisation's case as well, and the difference in regular and alternate power consumption is easily distributed over Nestle's expenses.

Hence, it can be clearly ascertained that Karachi has had the most of persistent power outages that have had a hemorrhaging effect on the city's economic activity apart from the recreational and the residential. Even though the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) was privatised last year, the electricity provider has failed to meet consumer demand and in fact suffered a sharp drop in its share price. The incumbent CEO Lt-Gen (Retd) Muhammad Amjad had promised to rid the city of it power shortage and redeem its status as 'city of lights'. Yet ironically, the shoreline bordering city seems more like a black hole during power shutoff periods and the infuriated consumers mobbing the KESC complaint centres appear to be a horde of Grim Reapers.

The KESC in turn blames WAPDA for not providing adequate power, thus creating a shortage of a hundred megawatts or so. And with a 5-hour stretch of power outage expected in many areas on Friday morning, the feeling is of impending doom of hellish misery. The scenario will be that the privileged employees of multinationals and large corporations shall be as usual enjoying the uninterrupted comforts of a chilled and vibrant office environment.

The swarms of workers in smaller companies and offices meanwhile will be languishing in their sweat-drenched clothes, dreaming of the luxurious rewards that they will reap in the afterlife.

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I am a working woman. I get to work at 9am and stay there till 10pm. Even after that I don't really want to leave my workplace and go home. Not because I have a horrible husband or irritating siblings waiting to get on my nerves nor am I an over ambitious working woman striving to get double bonus in 6 months. Actually I can't brave the hot, humid, electricity-less days and nights which is a routine in summers in Karachi. For people elsewhere this might sound strange but they have to experience summers in Karachi to appreciate what I am saying.

I love the city but every year from April to July I just don't want to be here. It's not that I am too sensitive to bear the stifling heat. It's the unannounced and unabated power breakdowns that incite me to run away to some unknown territory.

You know why? Because this is what happens every day.

You wake up at 6 in the morning because you must. Not for fajar prayers but because the power breakdown, the heat, the suffocation are not letting you stay on bed. You go to the washroom, only to find no water because the pump couldn't work last night.

Finally, what seem like ages, electricity returns but only to add to your misery. Suddenly you realise that due to constant fluctuation, one or two of your electric appliances are making strange noises. You call an electrician, pay him a handsome amount to repair them. You rush to your workplace and then from 9 till 5 you are in a heaven. The office is air-conditioned and you don't care if there is a power breakdown because the air-conditioning is supplied with generators. This serenity lasts till the clock strikes 5 and you go back to your home which is, as it happens, a flat on the 6th floor.

You approach the lift. There is no light. You climb the stairs all the way up. With no possibility of a doorbell, you thrash the door instead. You go for a bath in an unlit washroom. You light a candle and have a bucket bath because again no water in the shower. You have candle-lit tea. You go out to buy some bread from the bakery and end up paying more than the actual price, without even realising because it's so dark.

You come back home and are in a for a pleasant surprise. The television functions now and you sit to watch the cricket world cup final. But this time the cable wala has a power breakdown. You are about to curse KESC when power returns to the cable wala. You sink on the sofa in front of television and enjoy the exciting match. Jaysuria is on verge of his half century and he hits the ball high. It goes in the air with Australian fielders chasing hard to catch it. Will that be a six or a catch out?

But you never get to know because the power has been shut off again. Now no one can stop you from bashing KESC, government and whoever in one breath. The power does not return till late at night and all thoughts of sleep are laid to rest because the 2 year-old at your home can't bear the heat and dark and cries badly. Now that is when you desperately want to go to the KESC office and smack the windows.

Life in Karachi summer is toughest if one happens to be a patient. The other day, a friend whose father has cancer told that a device was attached to his father's throat to feed and medicate him through. "It's supposed to be fanned constantly," he tells, adding that when there's a power failure, the whole family, turn by turn, fans the device by hand. Sometimes this happens the entire night. "It becomes very painful for him when one of us falls asleep while fanning him," he tells regretfully as the family cannot afford a generator or a UPS.

The situation is quite irritating for students who have their matriculation or intermediate examination ahead. The sleepless nights drain all their energies to study during the day time.

Hope you understand why I want to run away from home and the city in summers.