RAWALPINDI, May 19: Fearing violence against the prolonged power outages, the Punjab government has directed all the divisional administrations to take measures to avoid unscheduled loadshedding.

The commissioners were told to convene meetings of the electricity load management committees and ask the distribution companies to stop unscheduled loadshedding.

After receiving the directives, Commissioner Rawalpindi Khalid Masood called a meeting of the divisional electricity load management committee and directed the district coordination officers of all the four districts to hold talks with traders and business community to persuade them not to launch an agitation against power outages.

The commissioner asked the Islamabad Electricity Supply Company (Iesco) to stop unequal distribution of electricity in the Rawalpindi division.

The meeting was informed that the business community of Jhelum and Chakwal had given the call for a strike against the prolonged power outages if the situation was not improved within 48 hours.

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) and Iesco representatives informed the meeting that the total demand in the four districts of Rawalpindi division was 1,500 megawatts daily but Iesco was getting 800mw only.

As a result, unscheduled loadshedding was being carried out in both the urban and rural areas.

They said the caretaker federal government had provided fuel to the thermal units for the production of electricity which would be injected into the system on Monday evening.

The commissioner asked Iesco to prepare a schedule of loadshedding and inform the public about it.

It may be mentioned that last year violent protests occurred in Rawalpindi city on May 20, June 18 and in July-August against prolonged power outages.

In Gujar Khan, four people were killed during violence against power cuts on May 4, 2012.