LAHORE: People of the provincial capital on Wednesday suffered owing to excessive load-shedding when around 550 feeders of the Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) tripped due smog and low production of electricity.
According to sources, the national gird faced a shortage of around 2,360MW amid which LESCO failed to manage the load, marring lives of millions of consumers who could not continue their businesses goings-on and perform everyday tasks with ease.
“LESCO had cleaned up the wires as part of its weekly maintenance plans around the city in order to avoid such technical difficulties, but all in vain,” they said.
Sources in Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) informed that four plants of the power division had shut down because of smog and with the closure, the system took a blow of almost 3,000MW.
“The power plants included Nishat, Nishat Choonian, Guddu and Head Baloki,” they said and added this led to hourly load-shedding that was observed by LESCO, FESCO, MEPCO and other electric supply companies of the province.
A resident of GOR-I in Lahore, Qayyum Salik said it appeared as if the power cuts were a “new year surprise” from the government to the people.
“There should be a system, such as an SMS alert, through which consumers are informed about load-shedding. It is necessary to save the people from all the inconvenience. I could not work for a single hour at my office due to power failures and fluctuations.”
A resident of DHA, Salima Malik said, “I was unable to use any electronics at home because of fluctuating voltage. LESCO should inform consumers of such plans beforehand and with technology it is not that difficult.”
Another citizen, Awais Alam, said that LESCO was quite efficient when it came to bill payment, but consumers’ problems did not bother it. “I had to go to work in wrinkled clothes due to power cuts. It’s like the government has failed to fulfil any of its promises,” he added.
Repeated attempts were made to contact LESCO spokesperson, but he was unavailable.