Running on empty : Load shedding continues despite govt’s tall claims

• Citizens still complain of unscheduled power outages despite PEPCO assurances
• Load shedding for industries continues for 10-12 hours 
• Township Industrial Estate chief says they will come out again if situation prevails 
• Qaumi Tajir Ittehad officials say they will try to convince traders to close shops by 8pm 

From Daily Times

LAHORE: Despite the government’s much-hyped energy conservation plan, the citizens have yet to get respite from the load shedding enigma with power outages still continuing for 10 to 14 hours.

The Lahore Electricity Supply Corporation (LESCO) flouted the prime minister’s instructions regarding reduction in power outages. People in some areas complained of unscheduled load shedding, against the tall claims by the Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) of observing seven to nine hours load shedding in the cities. 

Tuesday’s high mercury level added to the people’s miseries in the absence of electricity. Daily wagers suffered the most, as they could not work at places that involved electricity. “I cannot understand why the power distribution company is carrying out load shedding as per routine when power shortfall has dropped significantly,” Ramzan Bhatti, a labourer said. 

The humid weather also denied the people of the little relief they sought from recreational spots across the city, as most operated on electricity. “The country will witness more dry spell in the days to come, however, there are remote chances of windstorm and rain,” said an official at the meteorological office.

Industries: Meanwhile, power outages for the industries continued for 10 to 12 hours. Industrialists criticised LESCO for the load shedding, saying, “We have warned the company to supply uninterrupted electricity to the industrial sector.” Township Industrial Estate President Zaheer Bhutta said they would come out on the roads once again if the current situation of load shedding prevailed.

Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front Chairman Irfan Qaiser asked the LESCO chief to fulfill his commitments regarding uninterrupted power supply and fixed hours of load shedding.

Meanwhile, the Qaumi Tajir Ittehad (QTI) announced its support for the chief minister’s energy plan and decided to close markets by 8pm.

Convincing efforts: At its supreme council meeting, QTI Vice President Saleem Butt and General Secretary Abid Ali welcomed the energy policy and said they would try to convince other traders to close their shops at 8pm.

According to PEPCO figures, 3,852 megawatts of power shortfall was registered on Monday. The demand was 14,291MW and generation 10,439MW. Power generation from hydel sources was 2,417MW, while thermal plants generated 265MW. The independent power producers contributed 5,071MW to the national grid, while LESCO exported 750MW of electricity to the KESC.

Textiles exempted: Meanwhile, PEPCO decided to end load shedding for the textile sector, which would benefit 80 mills, while 200 mills will still face load shedding. PEPCO Director General Muhammad Khalid told Daily Times exemption of the textile sector from load shedding would be effective after improvement in power supply. Textile units of Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Lahore, Peshawar, Rawalpindi and other cities are facing four hours of load shedding.

8 PEPCO decides to end load shedding for textile sector