Conserving energy: PESCO fails to heed its own advice

Streetlights remain lit throughout the day while customers urged to consume less.

PESHAWAR:

While the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) continuously urges customers to conserve electricity in order to overcome shortage, the company shows its own negligence through the lights on the main Kabli-Dabgari road, which remain lit throughout the day.

“Pesco is in a state of self denial,” were the spontaneous remarks of lecturer Akbar Zaman while looking at streetlights at the Shahqabool Chowk. He held it as a beacon of Pesco’s ‘apathy’.

“These lights are on for a good length of time... we tread this road repeatedly and they are always on,” said Anwar Khan, a vehicle cleaner.

Student Yasir Ihsan said, “It is a matter of concern that Pesco officials remain oblivious to their duties in the face of power outages and low voltage.”

Awami National Party leadership criticised Pesco recently for overcharging, mismanagement and its failure to deliver.

On the other hand, Pesco spokesperson Shaukat Afzal has repeatedly requested ‘honourable’ customers to conserve maximum energy by consuming less. Afzal added that the company is taking all possible steps to overcome the energy crisis. Better co-operation extended to Pesco from customers can resolve the present situation, the Pesco spokesperson maintained.

“(But) hardly any Pesco offices and senior officials use electricity judiciously themselves,” a Pesco line superintendent said when approached.

Meanwhile, an official at the Sikandar Town executive engineer’s office said the illuminated lights revealed how hollow Pesco’s appeal for cooperation from customers is.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 10^th, 2012.