PESHAWAR: Members of both treasury and opposition benches in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Wednesday warned they would give a call for protest across the province against Peshawar Electric Supply Company if the excessive and unscheduled loadshedding didn’t end in a week.

The warning was issued during a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pervez Khattak here at the Chief Minister’s House.

Assembly Speaker Asad Qaisar, Sardar Aurangzeb Nallotha of PML-N, Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao and Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli of Qaumi Watan Party, Nighat Orakzai of Pakistan People’s Party, MNA Sahibzada Tariqullah of Jamaat-i-Islami and PTI MPAs participated in the meeting, where the chief secretary and senior Wapda and Pesco officials were also in attendance.

Lawmakers expressed reservations about prolonged loadshedding in the province and described it sheer violation of the assurance given by the federal government to the provincial government for end to the unscheduled, excessive power outages.

Set one-week deadline for Pesco to take corrective measures

They said they would stage a sit-in outside Pesco offices in Peshawar after a week as the power company had badly failed to overcome the excessive loadshedding.

Some lawmakers said they were ready to lock Pesco offices as the company’s officials were not ready to implement the decisions of the federal government on the resolution of loadshedding-related issues in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

They also announced they would also take to the streets for provision of full share of 13.5 percent in the electricity produced in the province.

The lawmakers said Pesco should formulate such loadshedding schedule, which ensure full use of the provincial share and reduce power outages accordingly.

On the request of Pesco officials, Chief Minister Pervez Khattak formed a technical committee consisting of the provincial energy department and Pesco representatives to ascertain technical and other causes of the excessive loadshedding and suggest power shutdown schedule for consuming the province’s full share in electricity generation.

He expressed dissatisfaction and disappointment at Pesco’s poor response to the issued raised by the government about the prolonged loadshedding, low voltage, delay in completion of MPAs funded electrification schemes and repair of transformers.

“The government and opposition have been forced by Pesco to raise voice on the streets to secure the constitutional right of the province,” he said.

Khattak said both the treasury and opposition parties demanded the constitutional right of the province.

“While acknowledging this right, the federal government had directed Pesco to take concrete steps in this respect but Pesco has always been found reluctant to play its due role. It has now gone to the extent that it has refused outright to accept the provincial government’s constitutional demand for provision of due share of electricity,” he said.

The chief minister said the federal government would be formally informed about the denial of due right to the province in sheer violation of the Constitution.

He said the federal power minister had authorised him to prepare loadshedding schedule but Pesco was consistently refusing to cooperate with him in that respect.

Khattak said loadshedding on feeders, which had heavy line losses due to power thefts, should not be the discretion of Pesco and that power theft was happening due to the connivance of Pesco officials.

He said his government would extend full cooperation to Pesco to check power thefts and recover the outstanding dues of Rs1.5 billion.

“Pesco should not make reservations about provision of the right of full share to us when controlling stealing and making recoveries is its sole responsibility,” he said.

Discussing the issues of electrification schemes and repair of transformers, the chief minister offered funds for the Wapda from the provincial resources to purchase 1,000 wheel carts to facilitate standby arrangements for replacing defected transformers and establishing transformers’ repair workshop in every district of the province.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2015

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