Power tripping, loadshedding add to Lahorites’ woes amid hot, humid spell

Lahore is grappling with sweltering temperatures and frequent power outages, adding to residents' frustrations. Scheduled and unscheduled loadshedding, as well as unexpected blackouts, are disrupting daily life for city dwellers, particularly on Sundays when hours-long shutdowns are used as an excuse for "repair and maintenance."

Local resident Johar Town resident near Ayub Chowk expressed disappointment in Lesco's lack of response to consumer complaints, even during the extreme heat. Another consumer from Khayaban-e-Jinnah reported the persistent brownouts damaging household appliances, while criticizing the company's service and officials for harassment.

A transformer failure due to an overloaded system left many houses in darkness for nearly 18 hours in a Johar Town locality. Lesco officials blamed the overloaded system and high electricity demand from air conditioning, stating that the increased usage in the evening and night hours leaves no choice for the company to implement forced loadshedding.

The demand surge is attributed to the use of solar power by consumers during the day, which disappears in the evening, leaving the Lesco system overloaded. Lesco officials claimed that the high-loss feeders policy is responsible for loadshedding in areas like Batapur and Manga, where frequent power theft is prevalent. The company aims to maintain service quality for regular paying consumers, while holding accountable those involved in power theft.

Despite efforts against power theft, including the removal of transformers and meters and arrests, Lesco officials were unavailable for comment.