PESHAWAR, Feb 8: Federal minister for water and power Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao has said that about 1,100 more villages in the NWFP would get electricity in line with an assurance by prime minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali.

Presiding  over a meeting of  the  Peshawar Electricity Supply Company (Pesco) here on Friday, the minister informed the Pesco authorities that prime minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali had assured him that 1,100 more villages would be extended electricity facility.

On this occasion, the minister asked the Pesco authorities to expedite the pace of work on the on-going development schemes, power distribution augmentation and renovation of electricity devices to overcome the problem of loadshedding, low voltage and power disruption in the NWFP.

According to an official handout issued here on Friday, the Pesco’s chief executive, Brig Malik Tahir Saeed briefed the federal  minister about the affairs of  his  organization, development  works  in the province and issues related  to  power distribution system in the Frontier.

The minister directed the authorities concerned of Pesco to ensure completion of the development schemes before the closing of the current financial year and that an effective mechanism should be evolved for the approved schemes to complete these well in time.

He was informed that out of the 77 on-going development schemes, 51 projects with an expenditure of Rs 14.3 million would be completed in Shabqadar and Doaba in district Charsadda. He directed the Pesco authorities to complete feasibility studies of the remaining 26 approved development schemes.

The schemes, the handout added, would solve the problems of low voltage and loadshedding and provide electricity supply to neglected villages and replace faulty electricity wires, old poles and transformers.

The minister was informed that 32 transformers had been upgraded and faulty wires replaced with a cost of Rs 6.5 million in different localities of Peshawar.

Besides, renovation had been taken at hand in Wazir Bagh, Haider Colony, Sheikh Abad, Rashid Garrhi, Inayat Ghari and some other localities of the provincial capital.

Mr Sherpao, directed the Pesco authorities to focus on renovation of electricity distribution system in the inner parts of Peshawar.

A sum of Rs 4.34 million, he was informed, was spent on renovation of Nothia and Gulberg, which would help resolve the problems of consumers.

On this occasion, Mr Sherpao told the Pesco authorities that he would soon carry out a visit to the inner parts of the provincial capital to inspect the renovation done recently.