RAWALPINDI: Power cuts lasting six to eight hours have begun in the garrison city, with the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco) shutting down electricity without prior notice to consumers.

Meanwhile, despite the onset of the cold season, there has been no end to load-shedding. Iesco, however, has claimed that it is carrying out two hours of load management daily to bridge the gap between demand and supply.

Residents of the garrison city have expressed concern over weekly power shutdowns in the name of maintenance, while two hours of load-shedding have also created problems for people trying to complete their household chores.

Muhammad Awais, a resident of Faisal Colony on Old Airport Road, said electricity was suspended for six hours, from 8am to 2pm, on Thursday. It was shut down again on Monday for maintenance, but Iesco had failed to inform residents in advance.

Iesco says annual maintenance work and a gap between electricity demand and supply have led to shutdowns

“We demand that consumers be informed a day before a shutdown so people can make the necessary arrangements. Students were preparing for universities, schools and colleges, people were getting ready for work, and women were doing their household chores when the electricity suddenly went off,” he said.

Muhammad Farhan, a resident of Shah Khalid Colony, said the six-hour power shutdowns without prior notice had created problems for residents. When they contacted the company, they were informed that the supply had been suspended for maintenance.

“We are paying electricity bills of more than Rs10,000 per month despite low electricity consumption. It has disturbed our household budgets,” he said.

Suhail Raja, a resident of Media Town, said load-shedding occurred daily in the evening and late at night. When he contacted the local Iesco complaint centre, he was told that the unscheduled load-shedding was being carried out by the Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco), not Iesco.

Abdur Rehman, a resident of Dhoke Ratta, said people were already suffering because of the government’s policies and the recent power cuts.

He said the government needed to improve the situation, otherwise it would face the consequences in the next elections.

Traders have also been facing difficulties because of prolonged power shutdowns in the name of maintenance. “Business activities suffer due to the absence of electricity, and shopkeepers have to run generators to light their shops,” said Muhammad Irfan, a shopkeeper in Raja Bazaar.

When contacted, Iesco spokesman Raja Asim said the company had started annual maintenance work on power transformers installed at grid stations of more than 132kV, 11kV feeders, transmission lines and other electrical installations across the region, from Attock to Jhelum.

He said annual maintenance was carried out from the end of October to February every year, during which temporary power shutdowns were conducted.

“In some areas of the garrison city, development work is also under way, and we have to shut down electricity to shift utility lines,” he said.

He said shutdown schedules were issued on social media and through the press, while announcements were also made in local mosques.

He added that Iesco ensured people were informed about the shutdowns, which were necessary to maintain an uninterrupted power supply.

Regarding routine load-shedding, Mr Asim said there was a gap between electricity supply and demand.

“There is an electricity shortfall in the region that has forced the company to resort to unscheduled power cuts,” he said, adding that load-shedding would end in the coming days.

Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2026