KARACHI - The Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) is holding dialogue with the consumers of some localities of the City to grant them regular connections in order to minimise the illegal use of electricity. Addressing to the press briefing, Jan Abbas Zaidi, Chief Operating Officer Distribution said that most of such consumers were ready to co-operate and the utility had wanted them to become its legal customers. Our priority is not to cut down the power supply, but to create a situation where both parties can benefit, he added. He said there had been no no-go areas for KESC, as its electricity reached each and every part of the Metropolis. However Karachi is a combination of typical neighbourhoods and each had its own characteristic. But at some places, more people are accustomed to other than legal utilisation of electricity. In any case, our job is to increase the number of our customers and promote our sales, and not otherwise, he declared. About a quarry regarding disconnection of electricity to a video centre in Saddar area on Monday, Zaidi said that a huge amount of Rs. 6 million was outstanding against the consumers of that building. In view of the big number of consumers in that building, the utility had waited more than enough for them to pay. Finally, the supply had been cut down, and by the evening, the Union paid Rs. 200,000 and promised to pay the rest soon. We have restored the electricity and hoped that they would pay in time, he explained. He also told media that the KESC had yet to receive over Rs. 36 billion from all of its non-paying consumers. Usually we wait for two months, though we have a right to disconnect once the last date of a bill is over. In any case, we wait till the last possible moment before taking the extreme step of disconnection, he stated. About delayed payment of Water Board, he said the utility is making all efforts to accommodate the department and, at the same time, it is trying to recover the outstanding bill of over Rs. 7 billion. He contradicted a news appearing in a section of the Press, which attributed an announcement to him to the effect, that load shedding in the City would continue for another two to three years. He said that in the previous days briefing, he had mentioned the continuing process of replacement of old feeders with new ones. He had also said that its completion might take this much time, but in some reports this duration had been printed in wrong context. Giving out operational update, Zaidi said at 2 PM, the demand stood at 2303 MWs while the supply was 2232 MWs with the deficit of 71 MWs, as KANUPP had tripped and will be online in a couple of days.