In Karachi, few institutions are as routinely scrutinised and as casually misunderstood as its power utility. Frequent public discourse continues to echo a familiar but ultimately flawed narrative.

Perhaps it’s time we shift focus and sift myth from reality, from blame to improvement, from assumptions to accountability, and from outdated narratives to informed dialogue, and view Karachi’s energy story through a lens of improvement and shared responsibility.

When K-Electric was privatized in 2005, the promise was simple: inject capital, modernize an aging infrastructure, and bring efficiency to a system long strained by operational and financial inefficiencies.

Two decades on, the record is clear. Shareholders have brought in USD 700 million in foreign direct investment, and the company has invested over USD 4.6 billion in infrastructural improvements, equivalent to six times its profits, over the same period to rebuild generation, transmission, and distribution.

The result? T&D losses have been cut in half, from 35 percent to less than 15 percent, while the grid itself has doubled in physical size. A World Bank Public Expenditure Review confirms the fiscal dividend: PKR 900 billion saved for taxpayers and consumers since privatization.

These investments have visibly reshaped Karachi’s power infrastructure. The gains manifest in the 30,000 distribution........

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