The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KPCCI) has expressed grave concern over the unprecedented unannounced electricity load shedding in industrial estates and demanded of the government to take notice of 16 to 18 hours power outages in commercial market, business hub and industrial areas in the province.
Trade activities have been adversely shattered in wake of prolonged unscheduled power outages in industrial, commercial areas and rest of business hub in the province, said Javed Akhtar, vice president of KPCCI in a statement issued here on Saturday.
He said that the industrial, commercial and domestic consumers are facing enormous difficulties due to prolonged 16 to 18 hours electricity load shedding. He said that the Pesco and Pepco are violating the directives of High Court to reduce electricity load shedding in the province. Javed said that KP produces electricity to meet its domestic demand. Despite this fact, the province is facing severe unannounced power outages of 16 to 18 hours as compared to rest of the country.
He criticised Pesco and Pepco and said that they have made life of common man miserable, adding that electricity is necessity of life and daily usage, but the industrial, commercial and trade activities had completely been shattered in the prevailing situation. Domestic consumers also face brunt of prolonged announced load shedding in the province, he added.
Javed said the government is lacking any viable plan to cope with growing energy crisis in the country. He added that the government had failed to provide any kind of relief to poor masses, but put them in to the darkness. He demanded of the provincial government to immediately halt prolonged 16 to 18 hours unscheduled load shedding in both urban and rural areas of the province.