Outages continue during Iftar and Sehar

Lesco officials say electricity during these peak hours is disconnected on the instructions of higher authorities.

LAHORE: Many parts of the city faced electricity suspension on Tuesday despite the claims made by the Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) officials to provide uninterrupted electricity supply at the times of Sehar and Iftar.

The Lesco officials in different sub-divisions say that the electricity during these peak hours is disconnected on the instructions of the higher authorities.

The areas include parts of Johar Town, Iqbal Town, Garden Town, Faisal Town, Mughalpura, Shahdara, Muslim Town and some areas in the Walled City. In some areas, the electricity is not available immediately after Iftar thus causing problems in offering Maghrib prayers.

The consumers complain that outages at these times hinder with preparation of meals. “I have to use torches and emergency lights for preparing Sehar and Iftar,” says Samina Ali a resident of Iqbal Town.

Abdul Jabbar, a resident of Johar Town says that there has been no relaxation since the beginning of Ramazan. Although the Lesco administration issues statements on daily basis claiming that there will be no electricity outage during these hours. Lesco is facing a 500-600 megawatts (MW) shortage. It is receiving 2,100 to 2,200MW supply while its demand is 2,600-2,800MW.

Lesco Public Relations additional director Javed Khan, however rejected the allegations saying that their is no closure in these hours. “There have been no such instructions and there have been no planned outages during the Iftar and Sehar.” He said that there could be a technical problem if the electricity is closed.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 18^th, 2010.