Weather blues: Rainstorm leaves city ‘powerless’

Power supply suspended for eight hours in several areas

LAHORE: Power supply to several areas of the city remained suspended for an extended period on Monday following a storm. Thousands of Lahore Electricity Supply Company (LESCO) consumers, including the Chief Minister Secretariat at 7 Club Road, remained without electricity for up to 12 hours after several electricity poles on The Mall gave way to the winds. The breakdown caused a shortage of water in several areas.

Azmat Nabi, a resident of The Mall, said that electricity supply in his neighbourhood had remained suspended from 3am to 5pm.

“The electricity supply got suspended as soon as the rainstorm hit. It caused us great inconvenience,” he said.

Ahmad Raza, a China Scheme resident, said that his family had had to spend a sleepless night due to electricity breakdown. “The electricity supply was suspended at around 2am due to the rainstorm. It only resumed at 12 noon. This caused a shortage of drinking water,” he said.

Ms Hashmi, a Samanabad resident, said that there had been frequent power outages in the neighbourhood due to construction work on the Lahore Orange Line Metro Train project. “Monday’s rainstorm increased our problems because there were no electricity and water,” she said.

Similar complaints were voiced by residents of Township, Garden Town, Iqbal Town, Multan Road, Defence and Walton Road.

A LESCO spokesman said the rainstorm had caused a huge loss to the company. “Dozens of electricity poles fell down and transformers were damaged in various city areas. We are trying to address all the complaints,” he said. He said that power supply had been restored to most of the affected areas by 11am. “Repairs are still underway in some areas,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 31^st, 2016.