Power outages: Court seeks replies from NTDC, NEPRA officials

PESCO chief asked to explain excessive load-shedding.


Umer Farooq June 27, 2013
PESCO chief asked to explain excessive load-shedding. PHOTO: FILE

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has asked the National Transmission and Distribution Company (NTDC) and National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) why the former suspended power supply to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) from the national grid station.

The explanation was sought by a division bench comprising PHC Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan and Justice Asadullah Khan Chamkani on Wednesday while hearing a suo motu notice taken over excessive load-shedding in the province.



During the hearing, the court also asked Peshawar Electric Supply Company’s (Pesco) chief executive to explain why excessive load-shedding was being carried out in the southern and northern districts as compared to other parts of the province.

The bench observed the flow of power to K-P had been suspended with the touch of a button, adding despite producing 3,500 megawatts the province had not been provided its due share of electricity. Only 1,300 megawatts is supplied to the province, which hardly meets its needs, added the bench.

Nepra officials told the court rules empowered it to hold or resume power supply to provinces, adding the authority had delegated regulation of power supply to provinces. But the court questioned under what laws Nepra had conferred the powers to NTDC, and who had authorised the latter to conduct load-shedding.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 27th, 2013.

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