LAHORE: The Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) will keep all the dedicated industrial feeders closed for nine and a half hours daily to supply uninterrupted electricity to consumers during Iftar and Sehr.

It has also warned industrial units to avoid using electricity during the prescribed period – 6:30pm to 4am daily – failing which their connections would be disconnected without further notice.

This decision was taken following an alarming situation arising from the gap in demand and supply.

The notice served by Lesco’s executive engineer (operations, headquarters) to a number of industrial units and others concerned stated that the current situation made it very difficult for the company to facilitate the public during Ramazan. As per the authority’s instructions, in order to facilitate domestic consumers during Sehr and Iftar, it was requested that industrial load should be kept off from 6:30pm to 4am daily.

“If it is found that industrial load is being used from your connection during the aforementioned time, your connection will be disconnected for the whole month without any further notice,” the notice added.

Talking to Dawn, Lesco Chief Executive Officer Wajid Ali Kazmi said that besides the dedicated industrial feeders, the company might use the option to shut down the dominated industrial feeders depending on the demand and supply situation.

“We will try our level best not to shut the dominated industry feeders, which also supply electricity to some adjacent residential localities. But we may do so if the situation becomes worse,” he explained.

Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association Chairman Adil Butt expressed concern over the government’s move to observe almost 10-hour loadshedding for industrial units during Ramazan despite the finance minister’s promise of 24-hour power supply to the industry.

“Pakistan’s exports continue to fall, and the government proposed loadshedding plan for Ramazan in industry, which will cause further decline in the exports as exporters would not be able to meet the deadlines on time,” Butt explained in a statement.

Terming it another setback for the economy, he said that without power supply, production activities would come to a halt, taking a toll on the national economy.

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2017