Four 220 KV transmission lines collapsed following thunderstorms. PHOTO: FILE
Bruising, 20-hour power cuts have driven residents of Quetta and other areas of Balochistan into a state of despair, compounding the ravages wrought by recent thunderstorms.
Even after a lapse of three days, the Quetta Electricity Company (Qesco) has failed to repair transmission lines that had collapsed in the wake of the thunderstorms.
Load-shedding hours in the provincial capital have grown in recent days following the collapse of four transmission lines of 220 KV between Sibi and Mach due to the thunderstorm.
Following the incident, electricity supplies were reduced to a mere four hours in 16 districts of Balochistan, including Bolan, Sibi and Mastung. “There is an issue of security. The team will not go to the area until security is provided,” said a Qesco official.
According to Qesco, there is merely 355MW available against the total need of 1,650MW, amounting to a shortfall of 1,255 MW. “The crisis deepened after four transmission lines of the National Transmission and Dispatch Company’s (NTDC) 220 KV double circuit got damaged and fell down,” Qesco official said. Bolan and Sibi are highly sensitive areas with the presence of armed militants, who often target security forces, police and power pylons.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 10th, 2014.
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