The residents of Lahore experienced the brunt of the city’s worst load shedding in recent memory, with power outages lasting for more than eight hours a day. A local news channel revealed in a report on Sunday that the Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) was illicitly diverting the electricity share of general consumers to the Punjab Assembly.

According to the channel’s report, the city of Lahore suffered from severe load shedding and prolonged outages, causing immense hardship for consumers. Technical faults and inadequate load management were cited as the primary reasons for the misery faced by the residents.

Over the past three to four days, more than 270 transformers owned by the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) became non-operational due to various technical issues. Consequently, power outages in different areas stretched to an alarming duration of up to eight hours.

LESCO Chief, Shahid Haider, countered the claims by stating that they had only received reports of two transformer burnouts in the city. However, sources revealed that the demand for electricity from LESCO reached 5000 MW, while the supply stood at 4600 MW, resulting in a shortfall of 400 MW. As a consequence, load shedding was implemented in different areas to manage this deficit.

Meanwhile, LESCO implemented an eight-hour power outage in scorching heat, contrary to their own policy, to supply electricity to the Punjab Assembly from alternate sources. This decision caused significant inconvenience and hardship for consumers.

In a press conference held at the LESCO South Circle office in Lahore, LESCO Chief Shahid Haider and Chairman Board of Directors, Hafiz Mian Nauman, addressed the ongoing power crisis. Nauman highlighted that the intense heat had led to an additional load of 1600 MW on the system, but they were adhering to the federal government’s plan of load shedding.

Nauman assured that efforts were underway to promptly replace the burnt transformers and restore the electricity supply to consumers. Already, 200 damaged transformers had been replaced. To meet the city’s energy requirements during the hot weather, LESCO had ceased supplying electricity to all development projects.

Currently, the power system is grappling with a shortfall of up to 1000 MW, exacerbating the challenges faced by consumers in Lahore. The authorities are urged to take swift action to address the power shortage and mitigate the hardships endured by the residents.

Source: Pro Pakistani