Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur restored the power supply after entering a grid station in Dera Ismail Khan on Wednesday and issued his own loadshedding schedule limited to 12 hours per day.

A statement posted on the KP government’s X account said no area would suffer power outages for more than 12 hours now.

The chief minister also directed all lawmakers to visit grid stations in their respective areas and ensure the implementation of the 12-hour loadshedding schedule.

Meanwhile, a letter from the Peshawar Electric Supply Company chief executive officer for the provincial capital to the Power Planning and Monitoring Company said that it was not feasible for the transmission and distribution system to switch on all the high-loss heavy load feeders on the same power transformers because the demand would lead to the system collapsing, causing longer power outages for hours on end and possibly days.

The letter mentioned other incidents of MPAs forcibly turning on the grid stations through the Eid holidays and said requests for cases to be lodged were submitted but no action was taken.

Areas of the province have been facing prolonged loadshedding, up to as high as 22 hours per day.

Last month, Energy Minister Awais Leghari had termed revenue-based power cuts, i.e. suspension of power supply to areas with high pilferage and poor bill recovery, “a necessity”.

He had explained that category 3 to 8 feeders — those with 20 to 80 per cent losses — were subjected to power cuts for 15-16 hours. “If we supply electricity from these feeders, the economy that is already struggling will collapse,” Leghari had said.

In September last year, ministers of the caretaker government, while announcing a crackdown against electricity theft, revealed that the losses of power distribution companies in Peshawar, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Quetta and Azad Jammu and Kashmir were as high as 60pc.

Addressing a press conference earlier today, CM Gandapur complained that the dues and revenues of the provincial government amounting to around Rs1,600 billion were not being given to it by the federal government.

He said the federal government had asked for some time to review the power system and requested the provincial government’s support in the endeavour.

However, CM Gandapur said the timeline given to the Centre was up and he had attempted to contact Leghari but received no response.

“This means you (the people) and we are free,” he said. Outlining his policy for future action, the chief minister urged everyone to follow it to the letter and propagate it as well.

“No one has to damage any Wapda asset because it is our asset and made with our tax money.”

The chief minister announced that there would be no loadshedding beyond 12 hours at any feeder and lawmakers would have to ensure this and monitor this by personally overseeing the matter.

Addressing the police, Gandapur said he had informed the KP police chief that the police would register no case against anyone on Wapda’s request.

“This is KP’s police. It is not bound to Wapda. Wapda is committing injustice, we are not getting our right and at the same time there is unfairness with us so you have to move forward with what is just.

“Imran Khan has made me the chief minister of your province, I’m the chief executive and you have to follow those instructions that I’m telling.”

To the administration, he said that it would also have to follow his instructions and said personnel would have to be present with lawmakers in overseeing grid stations and ensuring no fault and no loadshedding beyond 12 hours.

He said it was the federal government’s responsibility to solve all the above issues but it was not fulfilling it thus criticism for it was warranted.

The KP CM said his next step would be to curtail the national power supply from the province.

“I am also coming to Islamabad. Don’t think that I am saying all this only from my province. I will say all this in Islamabad too.”

Addressing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Gandapur said the premier had called him and told him about the province’s support to secure a deal with the International Monetary Fund.

“I first want my province’s money, otherwise, I will clearly tell the IMF that they take money in our name, tax our people.”

He “warned” PM Shehbaz that the premier was “forcing [us] to shove your government aside” because of his behaviour and actions.

“I know about your capacity, situation and how you are in power and how to remove you. I will take all these actions step by step and then you will not be able to bear it and you will scream and then even those who brought you [to power] will not be able to save you because even they have screamed while standing beside you because they are being criticised more.”

He alleged that the federal government had not fulfilled its word and would now have to suffer for it.

Talking to DawnNewsTV today, KP government spokesperson Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif gave his stance on incidents of forced entry into grid stations to restore the power supply and said it basically amounted to “the nation’s frustration and anger”.

He added: “The level of tolerance has been crossed so that is why the people are taking steps to enter grid stations and forcibly restore power.

“This is what happens when the institutions and the government do not listen to the people’s demands nor take any sincere action to fulfil them which is when the people take matters into their own hands which I don’t think is a positive or good step since the law is taken into own hands, there are legal violations and other unpleasant incidents occur so it is our final effort that such issues are not born and whatever issues are [present] of electricity, supply, heat and loadshedding are solved in a better way.”

Saif said the provincial government could try to control the people to not take matters into their own hands but questioned how long could it do that. He said the fundamental responsibility in the matter belonged to the federal government.

Earlier, he criticised the government in a post on X for not ensuring the elimination of loadshedding on Eidul Azha’s third day.

“Offices, factories [and] markets are closed [and] still the illegal loadshedding continues. The patience of the people of KP has been exhausted,” he said.

Today’s developments are the latest in a longstanding row between the province and the federal government over electricity supply and loadshedding in KP.

The issues of prolonged power outages in KP and the province’s dues owed by the federal government had infuriated CM Gandapur.

On May 15, he gave the Centre 15 days to cut the duration of loadshedding and vowed to “take over” offices of Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) — which comes under the federal government and supplies power to most of KP — and file cases against its officials if his demands weren’t met.

The discontent became so severe that PTI MPA Fazal Elahi had led protesters who entered Peshawar’s Rehman Baba Grid Station and forcibly activated feeders to restore electricity supply to their areas.

Click to see more

After mo­n­ths of acrimony, CM Gandapur and the federal gov­ernment on May 27 had clai­med to have reached an agreement to end power loadshedding in the province, recover pending dues, and, address the issue of line losses.

CM Gandapur had said he held multiple meetings with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Leghari, and plans have been made to develop a mechanism to prevent losses to the exchequer and ensure that citizens pay their arrears.

Spreading hate on Eid: Azma Bokhari

Meanwhile, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari criticised the KP CM and called on him to handle waste management on Eidul Azha in the process instead of hurling threats.

She said asking for the province’s dues was justified but also said that the province’s dues to the Centre for power costs should be considered.

Bokhari alleged that KP MPAs were attacking grid stations and taking over them.