A problem on repeat: Swat sheds some rage over power outages, sky-high bills

Outrage continues over power outages in Swat

MINGORA: Bills, outages, short reprieve, outrage—this nightmarish spin cycle has kept residents of Swat on their toes and businesses there on their last rupee.

The new wave of power outages followed a four-day period of uninterrupted power supply in the valley and has sparked public anger. Residents took to the streets against the Peshawar Electric Supply Company and elected representatives on Thursday

“It’s disrupted our social and financial life. Unscheduled and unannounced outages have caused every sector to hit the pause button,” Imitaz Ahmad, a local businessman in Mingora, told The Express Tribune.

Billed for misery

And to add to their miseries, being billed for electricity they never have the chance to use has left people in Swat broke.



“Usually our electricity bills are between Rs1,000 to 1,200 but this month the bill left me shocked—it was Rs4,000,” said Khali Khan, a resident of Saidu Sharif. “I don’t know how to pay it as I earn Rs9,000 a month which is already insufficient for a seven-person family.”

Residents of many areas complained no one had come to read the electricity meter. “They just jot down an assumed number and do not bother to do a factual reading,” said Amankot resident Imad Khan.

Another issue perpetually unresolved is one of rundown or malfunctioning transformers. Some areas have seen out-of-order transformers lying on the ground for months on end.

“This is the third week that our transformer has been out-of-order and we have informed Pesco officials many times but they pay no heed,” Anwar Ali from Islampur said. “We have collected Rs2,000 per house to get the transformer repaired ourselves.” This sort of self-help is a common occurrence across the province.

The people in Swat called themselves “the orphans” as their elected representatives are at the Azadi March in Islamabad.

“We cannot even contact our elected representatives as they are not in Swat but busy in the march in Islamabad,” Abdullah, also from Islampur, told The Express Tribune. “Instead of serving their people, they are wasting times in the capital for nothing.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 22^nd, 2014.