Pesco, Tesco faced Rs460m losses in floods: minister

PESHAWAR: Federal Minister for Power Khurram Dastgir on Thursday said that both power distribution companies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had suffered around Rs460 million worth of losses due to the devastating floods in the country. Addressing a press conference at the Wapda House, he said that Peshawar Electric Supply Company suffered around Rs400 million loss while Tribal Electric Supply Company suffered Rs60 million losses to its infrastructures.

He said that the federal government had deputed a senior officer in Peshawar for the accurate estimates of the losses and difficulties in the power supply.

He said that nine grid stations were affected and closed down due to the floods and safety of the citizens, adding that six of these nine were now reopened while three still remained closed. He said that 126 feeders were also closed during these floods and that 121 were reopened while five still remained closed. He said that grid stations and feeders were not damaged in the floods but transmission lines and pylons were uprooted in some areas and the power supplies to those areas remained suspended.

He said that work on restoration of these supply lines had been initiated and soon power supply to all areas would be restored. He said that the most affected districts were Swat and Bajaur. He said that electricity to Tank district had been restored. He said that the security issue in Jandola was also a hurdle in power restoration but the ministry was looking into different options to address the issue.

He said that a national policy would be devised to give relief in electricity bills to the consumers, particularly flood-affected areas. He said that the Prime Minister had announced a Rs10 billion relief package for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. He said that the ministry was also devising a mechanism for monitoring the performance of distribution companies, adding that the technology would be used to achieve the objectives. He said that the government was aware of the manpower shortage at distribution companies and would soon address this issue.

He said that the government had placed all resources at the disposal of the distribution companies for addressing all the issues as soon as possible. He appreciated the Pesco officials for timely action by suspending power supply to Nowshera district and saving lives and properties. He said that the timely action had minimized the losses.

He said that the government was preparing a strategy for line losses but its focus was on ensuring power supply to the flood affected areas across the country, saying that power supply in Sindh, South Punjab and Balochistan had been affected.