PESHAWAR: With less than 50 per cent of the workforce left since ban on employment in 2002, Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) continues to strive hard to serve to more than three million domestic and commercial consumers, maintain service delivery and bring down line losses, says its chief executive Eng Jabbar Khan.

“We are operating on 46 per cent of the strength we had prior to the government ban on hiring in 2002, while our consumers’ base has doubled. It is a herculean task to maintain service delivery and bring down power losses,” he told a ceremony attended by the elected body of Peshawar Press Club and senior journalists the other day.

Giving an example, a senior official of the utility service said that Hayatabad used to consist of just one sub-division in 2010 with 10 linemen. It was bifurcated in 2010 to make two subdivisions with two linemen each.

“The situation is going to become extremely difficult in the times to come with more men reaching their retirement age. I am glad we have been allowed to do some hiring now,” said the Pesco chief executive.

Giving his one year performance in office, he said that four new grid stations were established, eight power TFs and switch rooms were set up, 10 new transmission lines were laid and seventeen capacitors were installed across the province.

Senior Pesco officials including chief engineer Javed Iqbal Khan, chief engineer commercial Sherdad Khan, chief engineer PMU Mian Dilawar Shah, Peshawar SE Faisal Sharif, Khyber SE Asghar Qazilbash and DGPR Shaukat Afzal were present at the ceremony.

The Pesco chief executive assured PPC office-bearers that demand note for the media colony was ready and would be submitted to Peshawar Development Authority, the day legal challenges were overcome.

He said that Pesco would work day and night to energise the media colony. The PPC office-bearers demanded black-listing of the contractor.

He also directed his technical team to look into the power supply issue to Peshawar Press Club and try and resolve it at the earliest.

Published in Dawn, June 17th, 2021