Extended load shedding leaves Lahoris in dark

[LRE]

Extended load shedding leaves Lahoris in dark

Staff Report

LAHORE: Unannounced load shedding has been increased in the city and residents of most localities have to suffer because of a two-hour power shutdown after midnight – a practice forbidden by the federal minister for Water and Power.

A Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) official said that grid stations were following the directives of the National Control Centre, as no schedule for load shedding was available.

Shan-e-Fatima, a resident of Cavalry Grounds, said that unannounced load shedding, especially after midnight, was annoying. She said that the quarters concerned should at least announce a schedule for load shedding at night.

She said that people made their schedules according to load shedding timings, but the LESCO authorities keep on changing the timings. “Sometimes they shut the power down every alternate hour after midnight,” she said. She urged the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) authorities to probe the matter.

Akhtar Pirzada, a resident of Cantonment, said that people were fed up with unannounced power shutdowns, and that the authorities should announce a schedule for night-time load shedding.

A LESCO official said that they did not have schedule for load shedding. He said that senior LESCO officials had directed the staffers of all the grid stations in Lahore to follow the directives of the National Control Centre (NCC).

“NCC officials call the grid stations and tell the relevant staffers to switch the power off. They decide the time and the duration of load shedding. It is their call, we just follow orders,” he said. LESCO Chief Executive Office Akram Arain was not available to comment on the issue.

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