A forced power shutdown by K-Electric at the Dhabeji pumping station has severely disrupted Karachi’s water supply, leaving numerous neighbourhoods facing partial to complete shortages.
According to a spokesperson for the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC), K-Electric carried out an emergency shutdown of transformer number 1 at the Dhabeji grid at around 6:30 pm on 30 May to repair a critical technical fault. The abrupt action took 10 of the station’s 21 pumping units offline, significantly reducing the city’s water distribution capacity.
Several areas across the metropolis are now experiencing reduced pressure or a complete suspension of water supply. KWSC said K-Electric had initially informed them the shutdown would last about one hour for maintenance, but power has not yet been fully restored and no clear timeline for resumption has been provided.
Officials warned that the prolonged outage is placing extra strain on an already stretched water distribution network and urged residents to use water sparingly until normal service resumes. KWSC added that it is closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with K-Electric to restore pumping operations as soon as possible.