The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Peshawar Electric Supply Company Limited (PESCO) has raised concern amid attacks by public representatives on grid stations. The PESCO chief said that the attacks caused heavy financial loss to the company.
CEO PESCO raised the concerns in a letter dated 19th June 2024, addressing the Managing Director (MD) of Power Planning and Monitoring Company (PPMC) Islamabad. “It is submitted for your information that as a general and especially during Eid Holidays, Fazle Elahi (MPA) and Arbab Aamer Ayub (MNA) along with a mob attacked 132KV Grid Station Rehman Baba, and 132KV Grid Station Kohat Road on the following events and forcefully/ unlawfully restored the supply of 11KV high loss feeders with large quantum of receivables beyond the scheduled load management hours.
“The action on part of MNA and MPA caused heavy financial loss to PESCO,” read the letter. The letter added that the MPA and his team stayed for a long time in the grid stations to refrain the staff from switching off high-loss feeders. “Similarly, on the same day, Zulfiqar (MNA) along with mob forcefully energized 11KV feeders at 132KV Grid Station Taru Jaba and 132KV Grid Station Pabbi repeated the same actions as narrated above besides chanting slogans and instigating the mob to strictly watch the status of feeders and harassing the staff on duty not to open the feeders otherwise threatening for dire consequences, that can be visibly watched in the videos on social media,” it read.
“Similar action was done by Wasim and Arshad Nazim Glozai by forcefully energizing the feeders at 132KV Grid Station Dalazak besides blockade of motorway and un-easing the general public travelling through it. “Besides the above, Inam Mayor Mathra forcefully entered the 132KV Grid Station Warsak and unlawfully energized all the high-loss feeders during Eid days. He has also shifted high-loss areas on good-paying feeders illegally,” read the letter.
The PESCO chief said the elected representatives along with the mob have made it a routine matter to enter the grid stations and “acted unlawfully by switching on the high loss feeders”. “These incidents are not only encouraging people/mob to forcefully enter the grid stations and switch on the feeders causing high financial loss to PESCO /state but also creating frightening and threatening situations for PESCO officers/officials’ staff to run the system smoothly.
“Furthermore, the switching operation of 11KV switchgear by un-trained / irrelevant people may cause blasting of equipment and all the grid stations are at high risk,” it warned. PESCO said that it has requested lodging of First Information Reports (FIRs) to concerned police stations against the concerned Members of National and Provincial Assemblies. Earlier, CM Khyber Pakhtunkhwa severely criticised the federal government for the hour-long electricity load shedding in the province after protests erupted in major cities on the third day of Eidul Azha amid the heatwave.
Speaking at a news conference in Dera Ismail Khan on Wednesday, CM Gandapur after handing the schedule for 12-hour load shedding to the grid station officials accused Wapda officials of mistreating KP people.
The CM said, “Firstly, I want the money of the province to be paid to it and if it is not paid we will inform the IMF that they are getting money in our name but not paying to us,” he maintained.
In a related development, Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and KPK Chief Minister held a telephonic discussion on Wednesday to address the loadshedding crisis in the province.
Both leaders agreed to hold consultation and negotiations on the issue of 12 hours loadshedding in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the next two days.
