Lesco announces 5-hour power outage daily

LAHORE : Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) Saturday announced power load management plan penalising consumers up to five hours of electricity outages daily.

The power utility has also been accused of subjecting consumers to unannounced loadshedding in low demand winter months, which is incomprehensible for many. The citizens of the metropolis are experiencing prolonged hours of outages due to lesser quota from the national grid, according to an official. Conversely, consumers alleged that power utility has badly failed in efficiently utilising available power. 

The burning issue of infrequent power supply has raised alarm among residents and businesses alike. The consumers, who have been grappling with frequent power outages and voltage fluctuations, were particularly wary of the poor performance of power utility in managing energy affairs.

Power outages continue despite a reduction in demand for electricity owing to the seasonal variation. As per load management plan, which was not formally shared with consumers by Lesco, there will be outages for one-hour to five-hours a day for different categories of consumers based on aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses of a respective area. The demand for electricity has been on the decline in winter months but a dip in electricity generation led to severe imbalance in availability and demand, said an official. The power utility’s present electricity demand stands at 2,700mw against a supply of 1,500mw, leaving shortfall of up to 1,200mw. Its latest load management programme has been based on maximum power demand of 2,800mw. Exemptions for industry from loadshedding have been continuing though and independent industry feeders will not face any outages.

Moreover, contrary to the schedule, people complained that loadshedding continues for up to five hours to six hours in urban areas and eight to ten hours in rural areas. They added that the menace of unannounced outages continued to haunt them. A Lesco official however said that minimum outages were being observed and loadshedding was only being carried out on high losses feeders.

Another official said with annual canal closure going to start in the country, outflows from main reservoirs have been reduced drastically, putting a tap on hydropower generation from Tarberla, Mangla, Ghazi Barotha and other hydel generation units in the North.

He added that there is a shortage of natural gas for running thermal plants amid high demand from the domestic consumers. In some cases, he admitted that power manager deemed it feasible for shutting thermal plants due to availability of costly fuel.