Mahmood Khan takes notice of unscheduled power load-shedding

F.P. Report

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood while taking notice of the unscheduled power load-shedding in the province has summoned the PESCO officials to his office on Thursday and expressed great concerns over the unscheduled power outage in the province.

He directed the PESCO officials to take immediate steps to improve the situation and give relief to the people adding that a way forward be devised on war foot basis to stop the unscheduled load-shedding of electricity in the province. He made it clear that unscheduled power load-shedding in urban areas due to billing issues in few areas would not be acceptable and added that the province should get its full share of electricity in the total production.

“Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the producer of electricity and on other hand provincial government is providing significant funds to PESCO to improve the power transmission system in the province”, he remarked. Chief Secretary Dr. Shehzad Bangash, Advocate General Shumail Butt Advocate, Focal Person to Chief Minister Muhammad Khaliq, Chief Executive PESCO Jabbar Khan and other relevant officials were also present on the occasion.

The chief minister said that the provincial government has provided huge amount of Rs.4.5 billion to PESCO from the development funds of members provincial assembly in order to install the electric poles, transmission lines, transformers and other infrastructure. However, he said that certain irrelevant and non elected political elements were trying to get the credit which was not acceptable at all.

He made it clear to the PESCO officials that the funds provided by the provincial government must be spent through the concerned MPAs to complete the works for which the funds had been provided. He further directed them to complete the development works well in time adding that no delay would be allowed in this regard.

Mahmood Khan also stated that the mechanism of power load management and it’s time table would be devised in accordance with the priorities of the provincial government adding that the representatives of the provincial government would finalize the matters with PESCO officials to this effect. He further directed the PESCO officials to prepare plan in order to start the meterization of electricity in the rest over areas of the province and said that provincial government would all out support and resources for the purpose.