KARACHI: Another power breakdown at a pumping station of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) aggravated the prevailing water crisis on Sunday, leaving a vast portion of the metropolis without water for almost the whole week.

The water utility said on Sunday that the city was facing a shortfall of 122 million gallons per day (MGD) after electricity supply to the North East Karachi (NEK) Pumping Station was disrupted due to a fault in K-Electric’s main cable.

Officials said that areas in districts Central and East would be affected the most.

The KWSC’s latest announcement came a day after an emergency power shutdown at the Dhabeji Pumping Station disrupted the water supply to several parts of the city.

“Electricity supply by KE to NEK Pumping Station was abruptly suspended at 3:27am on May 31. As a result, K-II pumping station’s operations were affected, and the water supply system was also partly affected,” KWSC said in a statement.

“KE officials confirmed that the power supply was cut off due to a fault in the main cable supplying electricity to the K-II pumping station,” it said, adding that KE had made “alternative arrangements on an emergency basis”.

“However, due to limited capacity, the pumping operation could not be fully restored,” KWSC said, indicating the possibility of further shortage if the fault was not repaired “immediately and permanently”.

“The shortage may have an impact on the water supply schedule in different areas of the city,” KWSC said.

“KWSC has demanded that KE take emergency measures to repair the fault,” the statement read.

Later in the evening, the KWSC said that the power supply restored at around 9:20pm and the utility resumed its normal water supply operation.

Karachi has now entered the second month of a severe water crisis that has affected large parts of the metropolis, leaving hundreds of thousands dependent on water tankers and private suppliers.

Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2026