Summer draws nigh: PESCO prepares to ensure stable supply

Company’s chief tells board ADB financing installation of transformers in various grid stations.

PESHAWAR: In a bid to deal with power outages and low voltages which accompany every summer, Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) Chief Executive Tariq Sadozai has said the company is installing power transformers in different grid stations to improve power stability.

Speaking at a meeting of the Pesco Board of Directors at Wapda House on Wednesday, Sadozai informed the board that the “Asian Development Bank (ADB)  is financing Pesco’s plan to install 20 and 26 mega volt ampere (MVA) and 40 MVA transformers in various grid stations of the province”. He added the move will help the company ensure a stable supply of power to various regions of the province.

Pesco remains in the limelight especially during summer as the region witnesses frequent power breakdowns and planned outages, resulting in mass protests and at times attacks on grid stations by enraged mobs. The company believes the breakdowns can be curtailed by replacing and fixing components of the outdated power supply system.

At the meeting, Sadozai gave a comprehensive presentation to the board on the company’s efforts to overcome various issues, informed Pesco spokesperson Shaukat Afzal.

The Pesco chief told the members that every effort is being made for reducing line losses and increasing recovery of outstanding dues against power consumers. He added the company would do all it can to minimise the duration of power outages.

“Public cooperation can play an important role in reducing load-shedding. People should avoid using extra electricity,” Afzal quoted the company’s chief executive.

Sadozai further informed participants about the company’s ongoing campaign against illegal electricity connections, saying Pesco teams have nabbed hundreds of people using direct hooks to steal electricity and recovered millions of rupees from them.

A new power division in Khawazakhela, Swat and two sub-divisions at Alpuri and Charbagh have been approved which will facilitate local consumers and resolve their electricity problems, Sadozai told the board of directors.

A number of other managerial and administrative matters on the company’s agenda were also approved at the meeting, informed the company’s spokesperson.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 27^th, 2014.