Governor calls for effective measures to reduce power outages, electricity theft in KP

PESHAWAR, Nov 06 (APP):Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Faisal Karim Kundi on Friday directed the authorities concerned to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply to regular bill-paying consumers and stressed the need for an effective strategy to curb electricity theft and reduce line losses across the province. He was chairing a meeting on electricity load-shedding in the province at the Governor House. Chief Secretary Dr Fakhare Alam Irfan, PESCO Chief Akhtar Hameed Khan, TESCO Chief Zubair Khan Kundi and other relevant officials attended the meeting. The meeting was briefed in detail on electricity load-shedding, line losses, recovery of electricity bills and other related matters. Participants also discussed the causes of prolonged power outages, the challenges being faced and possible solutions. The Governor said consumers who regularly pay their electricity bills have the fundamental right to uninterrupted power supply. He directed the authorities to devise a transformer-based load management system so that consumers on other feeders are not affected due to poor recovery on specific feeders. He emphasized the need for effective measures to improve bill recovery on feeders with low recovery rates and said installation of smart transformers would help significantly in preventing electricity theft. Faisal Karim Kundi also called for activating committees comprising relevant departments to combat power theft and urged stricter legislation against electricity theft and meter tampering. He said a coordinated strategy was essential to reduce line losses and eliminate electricity theft, adding that all available resources should be utilized to ensure uninterrupted power supply and resolve public grievances related to electricity on a priority basis.