K-P CM decides to register FIR against 'low-voltage' PESCO

Pesco to be bound through a written agreement and told to expedite a drive against illegal electricity connections

PESHAWAR: A month after vowing “to burn the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) chief alive” on the floor of the house, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has decided to let the utility off with a reprieve, choosing instead to register an FIR against the company under the consumer protection act.

According to a handout issued from the CM House on Tuesday, a decision was taken at a high-level meeting, chaired by Khattak, to bound Pesco through a written agreement and to expedite a drive against illegal electricity connections.

The meeting further decided that if low voltages were observed in any area, the provincial government would an FIR against the company.

Member of the opposition and treasury benches were also present at the meeting. They discussed in detail power woes in the province.

According to the handout, the chief minister said that the incumbent government would not back off from the constitutional demand of 13.5% of its allocated quota.

“If Pesco does not have the capacity to cater to the needs of the people, its customers should not be made to suffer,” read the statement. “Not even 10% of the required quota is being currently provided to the province.”

He extended help to the utility to build capacity, but on the condition that it would contribute as much as the K-P government would.

The statement added that there was severe load shedding in the province, even on feeders where line losses were comparatively less. “The delays by Pesco’s service in providing transformers would also be made part of the agreement otherwise Wapda would have to pay for delays or failure of the services.”

Another meeting would be held soon to make relevant decisions.