PESHAWAR – A day after issuing a warning about taking control of the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco), the dynamic Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Ali Amin Gandapur, reached an agreement with the power utility company on a revised loadshedding schedule for the province.
This resolution was achieved during a meeting in Peshawar between the provincial leader and the head of Pesco, offering some respite to the public amid the intense summer heat.
In response to prolonged and unannounced power outages in KP, CM Gandapur threatened on Wednesday to seize the power company’s headquarters if the federal government did not decrease the duration of power cuts that evening.
During the meeting, the Pesco chief assured the reduction of power outage durations across the province. Under the new agreement, areas previously experiencing 22-hour loadshedding will now face 18-hour outages.
Similarly, regions with 18-hour power cuts will now experience 14-hour interruptions.
To ensure the new schedule is followed, CM Gandapur stated that the Pesco official would meet with the chief secretary today.
“If there is loadshedding even one minute longer than the schedule at any grid, a case should be filed against the relevant executive engineer (XEN),” he warned.
The chief minister expressed willingness to negotiate with the federal government to resolve electricity issues but insisted that immediate relief for the public is a prerequisite for any talks.
“The provincial government aims to provide relief by deducting the amount from its dues to the Centre,” he said, blaming the federal government and Pesco for line losses in the province.
Recently, CM Gandapur criticized the federal government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for high electricity costs and severe loadshedding. He demanded that the Centre pay the dues owed to KP.
