Power outages give Lahorites sleepless night

LAHORE:In the absence of Helpline and online complaint centre, power outages spanning up to 15 hours following Monday night storm made lives of Lahorites like a hell amid hot weather.

The fragile electricity distribution system of Lesco was knocked down by the storm and rain on Monday night, suspending power supply to many subdivisions. Although power cuts soon after inclement weather is a routine issue, Lahorites have to face prolonged breakdowns as consumers faced difficulties in lodging complaints about outages.

The double whammy of virtually standstill customer service and inoperative online complaint centre left consumers in the lurch amid non-redressal of their grievances. So much so local staff of power utility could not be contacted as Lesco top management a few days back abruptly decided to change mobile numbers. Instead of lending a helping hand, I feel like the power utility dumped consumers in the Monday’s dark night after severing power supply as well as all communication channels, said Umair, a resident of Model Town Extension.

As numerous complaints remained unaddressed, prolonged power outages deprived Lahorites of sleep even after 15 hours as many areas were without electricity in extreme heat. Routine power outages become a real nuisance when consumers found that there were no response on helpline and customer service centre.

Majid Lahorewala, a consumer, said electricity supply to Shama Road, Rasool Park, after the storm got disconnected and there was complete mum from the power utility. He lamented that as power restored after eight hours, the voltage was low. Sara, another consumer from Gulberg, regretted that there was electricity breakdown in her area too. She added that the utility’s own system was out of order. No one was responding to the calls of the consumer, she maintained.

Visibly worn out Najam Wali observed that after the Lesco system was down following the storm in the City, power was not fully restored. The voltage is still fluctuating severely. One phase is not working, wreaking havoc with the valuable home appliances. He also was wary of non-working complaint number.

People have to pay hefty bills but they face third class customer service, he lamented. Neither the power utility system was working nor the staff responsive. Should not this department be privatised, he posed a question. He viewed that the after privatisation, the attitudes of the government employees could improve due to checks and balances. Fed up with outages, Akram Raee alleged that Lesco deactivated its own 118 helpline number to avoid registering complaints.

Inam, a resident of Faisal Town, said that no one can imagine life without electricity for 12 to 15 hours. Amjad, a resident of Model Town Extension, bemoaned that he suffered one of the worst nights in summer as power cut for 10 hours. He added that PITC’s central online complaint portal was down so is the Lesco’s own helpline.

A local official of Lesco said mobile numbers of the power utility staff have been changed recently. He added that people would be aware of new contact details as soon as they get new power bills. He claimed that resumption of power supply was delayed as restoration work could not be initiated following rain as wet conditions did not permit commencement of repair. He claimed that electricity supply to most of the areas resumed in six to eight hours.