PESHAWAR: A technical fault at the Rehman Baba grid station on Friday disrupted power supply to over 72,000 households in Peshawar. This issue arose when protesters forcefully restarted feeders that had been switched off by the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) for scheduled load shedding.
Pesco reported that protesters entered the grid station around 2 pm, forcibly turning the feeders back on, which led to a technical fault. The disruption affected 32 feeders, impacting over 72,000 power connections. The protesters also harassed staff members and confiscated their mobile phones.
Efforts to restore the power supply are underway, but Pesco warned that it could take several hours. The company emphasized that such interference could severely damage the transmission infrastructure, requiring days to repair.
Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur chaired a meeting to address the power crisis in the province, attended by senior officials, including the additional chief secretary of the home and tribal affairs department and the secretary of the energy and power department. The meeting reviewed the load-shedding situation and noted that over Rs1 billion in dues had been recovered from power consumers. Despite promises of no load shedding during Eid holidays, many areas experienced 12-18 hours of power cuts daily, leading to 81 street protests.
In Lower South Waziristan, power suspensions of up to 21 hours daily were reported, causing significant disruptions. In Swabi, residents protested against prolonged power cuts and demanded the repair of a faulty transformer, blocking the Zaida-Topi Road. Similar issues were noted in Kohat, where local lawmakers met with Pesco officials to urge better implementation of the load-shedding schedule.
