Karachi Faces Evening Power Cuts as Gas Shortage Meets NEPRA Crackdown on Outages

Fuel shortage puts more Karachi neighbourhoods at risk

Karachi faces further electricity cuts as K-Electric warns that delayed gas cargoes could force it to restrict supply during evening and night peak hours. The warning comes alongside a separate regulatory intervention: the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has ordered the utility to stop unannounced and excessive outages after examining 620 feeders serving about 2.37 million consumers.

The two developments involve different reasons for cutting electricity. K-Electric says nationwide constraints on regasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) are affecting generation. NEPRA has rejected the practice of switching off entire feeders because of electricity theft, unpaid bills or high commercial losses, including when customers on those feeders pay regularly.

Reports describe phased cuts of one hour across Karachi, with some previously exempt neighbourhoods experiencing interruptions of up to two hours during evening peaks and late at night. These disruptions add to a much heavier burden in other areas, where daily outages have reportedly reached 14 hours.

The distinction matters for consumers: a genuine generation shortage can justify electricity curtailment under the regulatory framework, but financial losses on a feeder do not give the utility the same legal authority. The gas shortage does not remove K-Electric's obligation to follow the rules governing supply interruptions.

When K-Electric says cuts may occur

K-Electric spokesperson Imran Rana linked the fuel constraint to international supply disruptions and delayed cargoes, saying it was affecting electricity generation across Pakistan, including the utility's service territory. He described possible evening and night restrictions as conditional, rather than announcing a fixed citywide outage schedule.

Rana described the measure in these words:

an extreme, last-resort measure during evening/night peak hours, if necessitated

He also gave an assurance about supply outside those periods:

Daytime supply will remain largely stable

K-Electric's stated peak hours run from 6:30pm to 10:30pm between April and October, and from 6:00pm to 10:00pm between November and March. These are the periods identified for possible additional load management, meaning controlled interruptions used to bring electricity demand into line with available supply.

Rana said the company was coordinating with Pakistan LNG Limited and relevant authorities to restore normal supplies, and apologised for the inconvenience. No confirmed cargo arrival date or deadline for ending the latest restrictions has been announced in the statements described.

How widely have outages spread?

Reports of the latest disruptions cover Saddar, Clifton, Defence Housing Authority (DHA), Korangi, Orangi, Liaquatabad, North Karachi and North Nazimabad. Interruptions have also been reported in Malir, Landhi, SITE, Baldia and Maripur, indicating that the pressure extends across residential, commercial and industrial parts of the city.

Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Gulshan-e-Hadeed and Scheme 33 are among the other affected areas. Parts of the Old City and Razzaqabad have reportedly experienced severe outages. Feeders connected to several grid stations were said to have been switched off as the utility managed strain on its network.

A feeder is a distribution circuit carrying electricity from a substation to a group of customers. Cutting power at that level affects everyone connected to it, which explains why the regulator's objection to collective restrictions has direct consequences for households and businesses that keep their bills paid.

The reported durations differ. One account describes planned cuts of one hour in phases; another describes interruptions of up to two hours in previously exempt areas, including Defence, Clifton, PECHS, Muhammad Ali Society, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Nazimabad and North Nazimabad. These figures describe different reported experiences and should not be treated as a single guaranteed schedule.

The report describing Friday night blackouts carries a publication date of October 10, 2026. The other accounts do not establish a matching publication date, so the chronology should not be read as confirmation that every reported outage occurred during the same evening.

What the generation figures explain

LNG is natural gas cooled into liquid form for transport by ship. After arrival, it is converted back into gas, becoming RLNG, before being supplied to power stations and other users. Delayed deliveries can therefore constrain electricity production even when generating equipment is available.

Figures attributed to K-Electric put its own generation at around 1,600 megawatts (MW), with a further 1,000 to 1,100 MW drawn from the national grid. Together, those figures amount to roughly 2,600 to 2,700 MW, compared with reported peak demand of up to 3,400 MW.

On that simple comparison, the difference is about 700 to 800 MW, or roughly 21 to 24 per cent of the stated maximum demand. This is an indicative comparison, not a verified measurement of the shortage during the latest outages: the figures do not establish how much generation, grid supply or demand was present at any particular hour.

Data previously shared by K-Electric put LNG generation at 252 MW in December 2024, described as 19 per cent of its own electricity. That snapshot shows a material dependence on imported gas, but it cannot establish the size of the current fuel shortfall. It also relates to a different period from the broader generation figures.

K-Electric has not identified how many megawatts have been lost specifically because of delayed cargoes. Without that figure, it is not possible to separate the latest fuel constraint from other reported pressures, including network overloading and existing restrictions.

Why NEPRA rejected cuts based on losses

NEPRA's intervention addresses K-Electric's use of aggregate technical and commercial losses, commonly called AT&C losses, to determine outages. These losses combine electricity lost within the network with commercial problems such as theft and unpaid bills.

The regulator found that this policy had no recognition under the NEPRA Act, applicable rules or K-Electric's licence. It said commercial defaults, theft and high loss ratios could not justify suspending supply to paying customers simply because they shared a feeder with other consumers responsible for those losses.

The legal provisions cited include Section 21 of the NEPRA Act and Rule 4(f) of the NEPRA Performance Standards (Distribution) Rules, 2005. NEPRA said distribution licensees must provide reliable services and conduct their operations within the statutory framework, rather than adopt commercial policies inconsistent with those duties.

The regulator recognised technical constraints, system emergencies, absolute generation shortfalls and transmission constraints as circumstances in which supply may be curtailed. Its position therefore does not amount to a blanket prohibition on every power cut. It rejects commercial losses as a justification and requires any permitted restrictions to comply with the law and licence conditions.

NEPRA also directed K-Electric to stop unannounced, unscheduled and excessive outages. That requirement remains relevant even when the utility cites a genuine fuel shortage: a permitted reason for managing supply does not automatically validate the timing, duration or distribution of every interruption.

What the feeder investigation found

NEPRA examined data from 620 feeders serving approximately 2.37 million consumers. Its findings show that actual interruptions frequently went beyond the schedules K-Electric itself had declared, rather than merely reflecting the restrictions already announced to consumers.

On feeders in the category with the highest losses, serving about 1.18 million consumers, average daily outages reached 12 hours and 14 minutes against a stated schedule of 10 hours. That is an additional two hours and 14 minutes each day. Some 91.1 per cent of those feeders exceeded the 10 hour benchmark.

Feeders in the next highest loss category averaged 10 hours and 39 minutes of daily outages, with 81.9 per cent exceeding 10 hours. On feeders with medium losses, 68.4 per cent recorded interruptions of six hours or more against a stated six hour threshold. The last figure includes feeders at the threshold, so it does not by itself show that every feeder in that group exceeded six hours.

The 1.18 million consumers in the category with the highest losses account for roughly half of the 2.37 million consumers covered by the investigation. The finding shows how much of the examined population was exposed to the longest average interruptions, although it is not a count of all affected customers across Karachi.

NEPRA concluded that scheduled commercial restrictions were being used as a baseline, with additional unannounced cuts imposed on top. It also cited an earlier Rs50 million penalty, imposed through an order dated April 4, 2024, and said K-Electric had not made tangible operational changes to correct similar practices.

Services and businesses face wider disruption

The regulator identified consequences beyond household inconvenience. It said prolonged electricity interruptions were affecting water distribution networks, healthcare facilities and electric bus operations, particularly during severe climatic conditions. It referred to Article 38 of the Constitution and the state's responsibility to secure citizens' well-being.

NEPRA also cited concerns from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority about telecom sites connected to feeders with high losses. Extended outages forced operators to rely heavily on diesel generators, increasing operating costs and working against energy efficiency objectives.

Complaints from the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry concerned excessive commercial restrictions affecting businesses and industrial consumers. NEPRA ordered a formal investigation and issued a Show Cause Notice, a demand for the utility to explain its conduct before further regulatory action is considered. Those proceedings remain underway.

These effects explain why the dispute is broader than the length of an individual household outage. A feeder interruption can also disrupt the equipment and services on which an entire neighbourhood depends, even where the affected organisation or consumer has no unpaid electricity bill.

Cargo uncertainty and earlier supply problems

The fuel concern extends beyond Karachi. Reports link international supply disruption to hostilities in the Middle East and disruption to the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab, both important shipping routes. K-Electric's own explanation is narrower: international disruptions and delayed cargoes have constrained nationwide RLNG supplies.

For the December to February winter period discussed in the reports, gas companies and the Petroleum Division sought at least 22 LNG cargoes. An energy task force led by Lt Gen Zafar Iqbal reportedly promised 10 to 12 on a best effort basis, while a separate estimate suggested actual imports might reach only seven or eight.

Against the request for 22 cargoes, the task force's range would cover about 45 to 55 per cent. Seven or eight cargoes would cover about 32 to 36 per cent. Neither range represents confirmed deliveries, and the estimates should not be treated as an approved import schedule.

The reported cost of about $100 million for each spot cargo helps explain the financial approval process. The plan was expected to go to the prime minister, with consent also required from the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Pakistan. Spot purchases are cargoes bought for near term delivery rather than through a continuing supply contract.

The reports also describe earlier interruptions attributed to limited RLNG supplies in August, when the government said restrictions would ease after delayed cargoes arrived. In April, the government apologised for cuts exceeding a promised 2.25 hours, attributing that episode to lower water availability for generation. Those references do not provide exact dates or a confirmed common year.

What must happen next?

NEPRA has directed K-Electric to replace collective feeder restrictions with targeted action against individual defaulters and electricity thieves, following applicable laws and procedures. It also called for stronger enforcement against theft in coordination with law enforcement agencies.

The utility must prepare a phased installation plan for aerial bundled cables in areas with high losses. These cables group insulated conductors together and can make illegal connections more difficult. The regulator requires both that plan and a comprehensive compliance report within 30 days of the order's issuance. The exact calendar deadline cannot be established without the order's issuance date.

K-Electric said it was reviewing the order and would respond within the stipulated timeframe. Separately, its coordination with Pakistan LNG Limited has not yet produced a publicly confirmed date for normal fuel supplies in the statements described.

The key developments and deadlines can be set out as follows:

• April 4, 2024: NEPRA imposed a Rs50 million penalty for earlier violations.
• December 2024: K-Electric's disclosed LNG generation figure was 252 MW, described as 19 per cent of its own electricity.
• October 10, 2026: A dated report described Friday night interruptions in areas previously exempt from routine cuts.
• Within 30 days of the latest order: K-Electric must submit its cable installation plan and compliance report.
• December to February: The reported winter cargo proposal remains distinct from confirmed shipments.

The immediate uncertainties are the quantity and arrival dates of delayed gas, the resulting reduction in generation, and the exact outage schedule for each locality. The regulatory question is more definite: NEPRA has rejected collective restrictions based on commercial losses, while allowing supply management only within recognised legal circumstances.

Key Points

• K-Electric warns that RLNG constraints may require additional cuts during evening and night peaks, while daytime supply should remain largely stable.
• Reported interruptions include one hour phased cuts and outages of up to two hours in previously exempt neighbourhoods.
• NEPRA examined 620 feeders serving about 2.37 million consumers and found widespread departures from declared schedules.
• The regulator says paying consumers cannot lose supply because other customers on their feeder default or steal electricity.
• K-Electric has 30 days from the order's issuance to submit a cable installation plan and compliance report.
• No confirmed date for restoring normal gas supplies or ending the latest restrictions has been announced.