Politicians, businessmen deem creation of HESCO vital for Hazara Division

They say region needs own plant to cater to needs, especially in light of CPEC

ABBOTABAD: Hazara Division is the gateway to the eastern route of CPEC project and the expected hub of multiple economic activities in the near future. As a result, local businessmen and politicians have demanded that the government improve electricity distribution mechanism by bifurcating Pesco into two companies.

Official privy to information regarding consumers and distribution system in Hazara Division told The Express Tribune there are over 600,000 domestic, industrial and commercial consumers across Hazara Division. These consumers are supplied electricity through 900-kilometre-long transmission lines directly fed by 18 power grid stations of different capacities which are linked to Burhan Grid Station, Hasan Abdal.

Long transmission lines cause technical issues and low voltage. In addition, the sluggish response of Pesco employees adds to the miseries of consumers. According to insiders, consumers pay Rs20 billion to Pesco annually.

Hazara Division has a 40% share of Pesco’s total income and the line losses never exceed 10%. This is less than the total losses the distribution company suffers every month in Islamabad.

Matter of justification

Shaukat, a former office bearer at Wapda Union told The Express Tribune Pesco has 2.6 million consumers being managed by eight operation circles.

“Meanwhile, the Hazara circle, recently bifurcated into two, has six divisions and 23 subdivisions.” Justifying the creation of a separate power distribution company – Hazara Electricity Supply Company (Hesco) – he said the PPP government had created Sukhar Electricity Supply Company for 600,000 consumers in Sindh.  Abbas, another Pesco employee, said between 1934 and 1980 a private power distribution company called Repco had served the consumers of Abbottabad.

“This serves as a precedent,” he said. “Consumers from Hazara and hundreds of employees of Pesco have to suffer the physical and mental exertion of travelling to Peshawar for their minor official work.” Talking to journalists, former minister of state for finance Omar Ayub Khan said with the implementation of CPEC project, new business activities would take place in Hazara and increase the number of existing power consumers. “This would also create thousands of new job opportunities,” he said. “To achieve these targets, the creation of Hesco is imperative.”

Positive step

A PTI MNA from Abbottabad also supported the demand for Hesco.

He said addressing the complaints of consumers of Hazara within their area would help improve the performance of the distribution company. It would also end the current trend of joblessness in Hazara, he added.

Advocate Qazi Azhar, a senior leader of Hazara Qaumi Mahaz, said the creation of Hesco would end the cycle of discrimination which the people of Hazara have been facing at the hands of “the Peshawar-based ruling coterie”.

“Frequent complaints of appointing non-Hazara employees at Pesco offices in Hazara would come to an end once and for all,” he added.

Sultan Khan, a member of Tehrik Suba Hazara Party, said the existing number of non-Hazara employees at PESCO offices in the division serves as welcome proof of how the rights of inhabitants of Hazara are being disrespected.

“Our children are either forced to work abroad or in Karachi for a living,” he said. “However, those from across the Attock bridge are being posted in place of locals.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 23^rd, 2016.