Amreli Steels Limited (ASTL) today announced that it has reduced the production of re-bars by 40 percent as a result for power outages in the city.

Production has decreased significantly during the course of last two months since the K-Electric (KEL) generation capacity was acutely compromised due to a spat between Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) and KEL.

The exchange was informed today by the company in a notice that mentioned “sever load-shedding by K-Electric of approximately eight hours”. Power outages have increased throughout the city in the commercial, industrial, and residential areas alike since a fall-out between the gas supplier SSGC and KEL.

The notice mentioned that, “the re-rolling plant of the company which is situated at S.I.T.E. Karachi is forced to reduce its production of re-bars by 40 percent of its capacity”. Furthermore, the company also mentioned that, “the management expects overall drop in production to continue until the load shedding does not end”.

National Electric & Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has initiated legal proceedings against the power producer KEL for power outages. According to media sources, National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) had constituted a high-level committee on April 10 to probe into unscheduled power outages in Karachi.

A NEPRA team submitted its report on load-shedding by K-Electric to authorities today, which found that the primary cause of load-shedding was not operating power plants on oil.