PESHAWAR
Prime Minister’s Coordinator for Information and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Affairs, Ikhtiar Wali Khan has taken strict notice of unannounced and prolonged power outages in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and directed Peshawar Electricity Supply Company (PESCO) to submit a comprehensive action plan within three days.
Expressing serious concern over the ongoing unannounced, prolonged, and excessive electricity load shedding in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ikhtair Wali has directed PESCO to take immediate, effective, and result-oriented measures, says a press release issued here on Friday.
According to the official communication, the electricity supply situation in the province has deteriorated to an alarming level. During the ongoing extreme summer heat, citizens are facing prolonged and unannounced power outages, severely disrupting daily life as well as commercial and industrial activities.
The situation has particularly intensified public frustration in Nowshera, Mardan, Swabi, Charsadda, Peshawar, and other districts, while also negatively affecting the overall law and order environment.
The communication directs PESCO to implement a zero-tolerance policy against electricity theft through indiscriminate province-wide enforcement operations. It instructs the company to eliminate all illegal electricity connections, register criminal cases against those involved in power theft, and introduce effective administrative and technical reforms to significantly reduce line losses.
PESCO has further been directed to ensure the immediate recovery of outstanding dues from major individual defaulters as well as government, semi-government, and private institutions.
To achieve this objective, coordinated joint operations should be conducted in collaboration with Deputy Commissioners, district police, law enforcement agencies, and other relevant authorities to dismantle organized electricity theft networks and ensure effective recovery of outstanding payments.
The company has been instructed to submit a comprehensive action plan and detailed report within three days, including feeder-wise data on electricity demand, supply, supply gaps, and Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses; a comprehensive strategy for joint anti-electricity theft operations with Deputy Commissioners and district police; a list of major individual, government, and departmental defaulters; a clear timeline for the recovery of outstanding dues along with procedures for disconnection in case of non-payment; and a transparent, fair, and predictable load management schedule for areas demonstrating high recovery rates and low line losses.
Coordinator for Information and KP Affairs Ikhtiar Wali Khan stated that the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cannot be left to suffer unjustified load shedding. He emphasized that it is unacceptable for honest electricity consumers to bear the consequences of electricity theft, administrative shortcomings, and poor recovery of dues.
He reaffirmed that the government is committed to ensuring equitable electricity distribution, eliminating power theft, reducing line losses, and bringing greater transparency and efficiency to the energy sector.
Ikhtair Wali further clarified that the matter is of the highest urgency, and that the Prime Minister’s Office is monitoring the situation on a daily basis. PESCO has been directed to submit a practical and comprehensive action plan within the stipulated timeframe and to ensure concrete measures that provide immediate relief to the public.
