LAHORE: Power consumers spent the last couple of days in a terrible situation after 220kV grid station of National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) developed a fault leading to electricity suspension for several hours in many areas.

On the other hand, the humid conditions caused overloading of the Lahore Electric Supply Company’s distribution system.

“We passed Monday night and the wee hours on Tuesday in a terrible situation, as there were outages on an hourly basis besides tripping. We contacted our subdivision, but no one even bothered to attend the call,” Ikram, a resident of Township, told Dawn.

He criticised the government for not managing the power sector despite the fact there is no shortage in the country.

According to a resident of Journalist Colony (Harbanspura), the situation seems worst, as electricity tripping, low voltage, forced outages or load management have become a routine matter, especially for the last five or six days. “Many a times, we lodged complaints with our area subdivision, but to no avail,” Shehzad added.

Although NTDC claims to have rectified fault, power supply remains erratic in many localities

A DHA block-A resident also complained about shutdown for almost seven hours on Tuesday.

“There was no light in our area for many hours on Tuesday. But when I contacted, no one picked my call,” Ms Jalil deplored.

However, the Lesco Defence Division executive engineer said the shutdown was due to installation of some new feeders by Lesco’s construction/development department.

According to NTDC, the problem occurred when its 220kV New Kot Lakhpat grid station developed a fault, leading to power suspension in the areas being supplied with electricity through various 132kV grid stations connected with this grid.

“A fault developed at the 220Kv New Kot Lakhpat grid and the fourth tower of its connected 132kv grid (Rehman Park). This caused damage to the circuit breaker and the transformer. However, the affected areas were supplied with electricity through alternative sources,” an NTDC spokesman said in a statement received at about 8:40pm (Monday night).

But till next day (Tuesday), the consumers continued complaining about the load management on an hourly basis or power suspension for hours. “Tuesday too was another tough day, as the electricity remained suspended till 1pm,” said another consumer. But, the NTDC, on the other hand, claimed to have rectified the issue. “Our eight grid stations in Lahore feed the Lesco’s 132 grid stations. And at present (11:40am), all of our grids are working normal,” the spokesman told this reporter.

He said massive humidity was causing overloading of the system. Lesco’s own grids and feeders are overloaded. He said the Kot Lakhpat grid was made operational on Monday night. “But, according to our chief engineer, the use of air-conditioners lowers voltage. So, in this situation, Lesco has to manage the load,” he said, clarifying that Township area is not in trouble due to our 220kV grid. He said August, September and October are always tough for Lesco.

Talking to Dawn, Superintending Engineer (Central) Lesco, Mr Allah Yar claimed that the distribution system was not overloaded at all. “The system is working very well. But sometimes in case of [sudden] emergence of faults in the system, we face such situation. I assure you that our system is working well,” he explained. “And if there is any overloading issue that might exist with the system (220/500kV system) that is feeding Lesco,” he claimed.

POWER THEFT: Lesco claims to have launched a mega search operation in its eastern circle.

The teams found theft through 48 connections. They disconnected the supply and charged over 622,000 units to power thieves besides initiating a legal action against them.

LDA: The Lahore Development Authority on Tuesday cancelled two plots in its Sabzazar scheme for being allotted on bogus documents.

Moreover, an LDA team dismantled infrastructure of three unlawfully developed housing schemes on Raiwind Road, according to a spokesman.

LWMC: Lahore Waste Management Company on Tuesday formed a special social mobiliser’s squad to raise awareness among citizens about cleanliness.

“Six additional vehicles have also been given to the squad for effective execution of the awareness drive. The squad along with LWMC enforcement inspectors also visited different areas of the city and made announcement to keep the city clean,” said a spokesman of the company in a press release.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2020