A PAINFUL increase in the duration of loadshedding over the past week has added to the miseries of the people of Karachi. Honest power consumers who pay their bills on time are being made to suffer due to the economic mismanagement of the government and a tussle within the energy sector, said The Dawn in an editorial published Wednesday. Excerpts: While loadshedding in the city has gone up to 10 hours in some parts, the Karachi Electric Supply Company and the Sui Southern Gas Company have been waging a war of words against each other in the media. The KESC published an advertisement on Tuesday blaming the increased power cuts on short gas supply and circular debt. The utility claims the amount of gas supplied last week was 75 percent less than its quota, which is affecting power generation. However, the SSGC claims that the dramatic drop in gas supply is not because of the KESC`s unpaid bills, but because of the closure of gas fields for “annual maintenance”. The KESC says that various federal and provincial government customers owe it over Rs. 50 billion, while admitting that it also owes others billions of rupees (Rs. 22 billion being claimed by the SSGC). It says that unless the government pays the KESC, the utility will not be able to clear its dues. There is certainly a culture of non-payment in the country, with the government leading the way in this regard. This has helped make circular debt the monster it presently is. It is said the KESC is responsible for around 25 percent of circula r debt, yet it is certainly not alone as none of the provincial governments are particularly bothered about paying their power bills. __
