ISLAMABAD: With no immediate solution in sight to the suffering of Kara­chiites, the electricity crisis in Karachi appears to be turning into a major pre-election issue between the federal and Sindh governments.

The federal government on Friday took a public stance on the gas supply dispute between K-Electric (KE) and Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) and said the authorities could not succumb to the “blackmailing” of the former utility. This happened at a time when Karachi’s consumers continued to endure hours-long outages due to power shortage.

Power Minister Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari categorically said that matters could not move forward on the issue of enhanced gas supply to KE without payment, or an agreement on mechanism for payment, of Rs80 billion receivables.

Published in Dawn, 21st April, 2018

https://www.dawn.com/news/1402893