LAHORE: The Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) has started unannounced load-shedding in the city after widening of the demand-supply gap to 500 megawatts on Saturday.
According to the Lesco sources, the company is getting a supply of 5000 megawatts from the national grid against a demand of 5500 megawatts with an increase in mercury to 43C with real feel touching 48C.
It may be noted that the city temperature has crossed 40C in the second half of the current month after experiencing cool weather throughout May due to the repeated occurrence of a westerly system. Maximum temperature stood below 40C throughout May which kept demand for electricity under control due to the fact the load of air conditioners remained low on the distribution system.
According to a recent statement by Lesco, at least four hours of load-shedding should be expected in areas that report a 20 percent loss in aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses. To manage such an approach, Lesco created divisions according to a Load Management Programme and created Category I, II, III and IV areas so that appropriate power outages could be determined. The first two can expect two hours of power outages per day, and the rest can expect four to five.
However, the consumers have pointed out that they are facing load-shedding after every alternate hour, especially during the wee hours. The inhabitants of the walled city are the worst hit of the situation because of the populous spaces of residences, especially when the tradition of sleeping under the open sky has been suspended for a long.
Muhammad Amjad, one resident of the Garhi Shahu area, said he has only one room for his family that is also stuffed with other household items. He also pointed out that he cannot afford UPS, therefore, he has spent a sleepless night and returned to his job with swelled reddish eyes.
It may be noted Federal Power Minister Engr Khurram Dastgir Khan has been claiming in his media interactions of ensuring zero load-shedding during summer. But all his promises proved tall claims and both the efficiency and performance of Lesco in particular and the rest of Discos in general, are exposed in the eyes of their consumers.
It is also worth noting that the National Transmission & Despatch Company (NTDC) has also been making such claims of overcoming the transmission of electricity supply issues once and for all by upgrading Lahore – Matiari transmission line, but all in vain and the transmission system has also failed to overcome the phenomenon of load-shedding due to successive tripping of transformers with the increase in load during peak hours.
The only hope on the part of consumers is left to the upcoming westerly system, likely to enter the country on Sunday (today) to bring rain and excellent effect until the 30th of June. The arrival of westerly winds is expected to shower heavy rain after obtaining moisture out of the monsoon winds from the Bay of Bengal.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023