Prolonged and unscheduled load shedding of up to 20 hours in various cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has adversely affected the routine life besides seizing trade activities. Urban areas of Peshawar, Kohat, Mardan, Charsadda, Nowshera and Swabi are provided electricity for 10 to 12 hours daily while rural areas of the districts have to witness 14 to 18 hours of load shedding daily.
Meanwhile, upper districts of KP including Haripur, Mansehra, and Battagram have to face the worst power supply situation as these areas are provided electricity for only four to six hours everyday.
Prolonged power outages have irked the citizens as they have to face hardships in domestic and commercial activities. Students of Hazara division appearing in the ongoing SSC and HSSC examinations have also expressed concern and anguish over the power supply situation, saying that they have to face difficulties in preparing for their exams.WAPDA officials of various districts when approached by INP news agency said to bridge the gap between demand and supply they had to cut power in intervals in various areas. They were of the view that low water level in rivers and delay in provision of oil to power plants has resulted in a decrease in power generation. However, the WAPDA officials claim that they provide electricity to all districts in intervals and accusations regarding discriminatory attitude towards certain areas in power supply are baseless.