Peshawar Jirga condemns hours-long power, gas load shedding

The Peshawar Qaumi Jirga has expressed protest over hours-long power and gas load shedding and warned of ringing the offices of Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) and Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) to convey their message.

The jirga, a representative body of different political parties, in a statement said people in the provincial metropolis were fed up with the ever-increasing energy crisis, as noted by News International.

Power and gas supply remains disrupted for hours on a daily basis despite the fact the province produces both the commodities more than its consumption, it added, according to the statement of the local jirga.

Further, the jirga spokesman Arbab Khyzer Hayat said there was no electricity and gas shortage but severe mismanagement was there on the part of the PESCO and SNGPL.

"The consumers were facing great hardships because of gas and power outages for hours," he said.

PESCO and SNGPL are sending inflated bills loaded with a number of taxes but not providing the facility to consumers, he said, adding the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had failed on all fronts as it lacked the capability to run the institutions let alone provide relief to the masses.

The jirga spokesman said the consumers in the capital city could no more tolerate the PESCO and SNGPL cruelties and would besiege their offices if the load shedding was not stopped forthwith.

Meanwhile, consumers in the entire Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are facing an energy crisis as the power and gas supply remains cut off for hours daily.

Further, people in almost all parts of the province are holding protests against natural gas and electricity outages. Consumers are either faced with low gas pressure and low power voltage or load shedding for hours. The gas shortage could not be removed even after closing the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) stations.

On the other hand, electricity load shedding is carried out despite the fact that the power consumption is very limited because of winter as there is no use of air conditioners or electric fans.

People of the province believe that the issue is mismanagement as the PESCO has failed to manage the system and control line losses, which are mostly because of the PESCO own staff.

Keeping in view the worst situation, the demand for PESCO privatization has increased as consumers opined the power company staff itself is either involved or facilitating power theft and line losses, adding allowing them free power supply was one of the main causes of the line losses, as noted by News International.

( With inputs from ANI )