LAHORE, May 5: With summer setting in, frequent power supply interruptions, fluctuations and breakdowns have become a matter of routine in all parts of the provincial metropolis.

Complaints about power fluctuations, interruptions and breakdowns kept pouring in the office of Dawn throughout Sunday and Monday.

An irritated resident of Makkah Colony said that there was a six-hour unscheduled breakdown in his area on Sunday. “My mother, a heart patient, had to suffer from 6pm to 11.45pm. There was no water and no food could be cooked. To make the things worst, the Lesco staff concerned kept on giving different explanations for the breakdown — from feeder’s tripping to burning of the transformer.”

A resident of Canal View claimed that supply situation was getting worst with every passing day. “Frequent fluctuations affect all electrical appliances and this damage go un-noticed. The cost (of damage) runs into thousands of rupees.

“The fluctuations are so frequent and wild that even stabilizers fail to protect the gadgets.

“The courts must starts entertaining claims for damages against the Lesco. Otherwise, the company may end up causing millions of rupees loss to people and still persist with archaic system of distribution,” he said.

“The usual excuse with Lesco for power tripping is kite flying, but it could hardly cause tripping at 5 in the morning or 11 in the night.

“There is some contribution by the kite flyers but it is wrong to put the entire blame on them. Actually, it is faulty maintenance of the system,” a Nawankot consumer said.

“The company has to come up with a comprehensive plan to control breakdowns and frequent interruptions besides the fluctuations,” he said.

A Lesco official working on a transformer in Nawankot area said: “we are short of hands, especially trained ones. Consumers do not cooperate with us when our teams visit them to determine load demand of an area.”