SHANGLA: Local elders have demanded of the Peshawar Electric Supply Company to fill over 100 vacant posts in the Bisham subdivision as the staff shortage is causing delay in fixing faults in the transmission lines and power transformers to the suffering of the consumers.

They raised the demand during a meeting with the Pesco’s superintending engineer, Malakand division, Khalid Khan, here on Saturday.

The elders highlighted that despite 80 per cent recovery and zero line losses Pesco observed 14-16 hours power loadshedding in the district. They lamented that the locals had donated their lands for construction of Khan Khwar power project, but were kept deprived of smooth power supply.

They demanded replacement of the obsolete transmission lines to avoid power tripping and line losses. The elders requested the Pesco superintending engineer to get relocated the electricity poles from the mountainsides to roads as it was always problematic to get the faults fixed. They also complained about inflated power bills and faulty meter reading.

The elders pointed out that during the Gen retired Pervez Musharraf regime, the people of the earthquake-hit areas were exempted of paying power bills, but the Pesco continued to show the arrears in the power bills.

They complained that faulty transformers were sent to either Nowshera or Buner for repair due to absence of a workshop locally.

The Pesco superintending engineer assured the participants that duration of loadshedding would be halved, and asked the SDO Bisham to submit a proposal for repair of transformers, installation of new ones, replacement of power cables and relocation of pylons from the mountains.

He urged the people to cooperate with Pesco staff in curbing power theft and recovery of dues so that there was no loadshedding. He said the issues, especially overbilling, would be resolved.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2019