Electricity disrupted in KP due to continuous rain

PESHAWAR: Residents across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) watched their houses plunge in darkness due to the electricity going out.

The electric supply across the province was disrupted by continuous rain that began on Wednesday.

Read more: Strong winds batter Islamabad, Rawalpindi

According to a spokesperson from the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO), many areas are experiencing disruptions in electricity supply.

Residents in Swat, Bannu, Swabi and Mansehra were left without electricity following the torrential weather.

The PESCO spokesperson reported that 37 of the company’s feeders have tripped, and 26 feeders are currently closed due to faults caused by the weather.

Areas such as Sethi Town, Tajabad, Daudzai, Dala Zak, Karim Pura and Pir Bala are among the most impacted by the outages.

PESCO staff are ‘actively’ engaged in efforts to restore power to the affected regions, reportedly working  to address the faults and bring electricity back.

The situation in the KP is reflective of a broader issue facing the energy-starved Pakistan, where shortages have become a persistent issue for decades.

 The country has been grappling with a growing demand for electricity, which has outpaced supply. Factors contributing to the energy crisis include aging inftastcuture, insufficient investment in power generation, and a reliance on limited mix of energy sources. Pakistan’s population also exploded in recent decades, with more people from the rural areas migrating to urban for better lives.

The country’s energy sector has struggled to meet the needs of its mushrooming populace, leading to frequent power outages that started in mid-2000s. Successive governments made efforts to address the issue but it was not enough.

Despite being the primary electricity distribution company in KP, PESCO’s reach is limited as cities in the north-western province balloon at an unprecedented rate.  

Read more: Rain brings the chill back in Peshawar

Established to manage the distribution of electricity, PESCO has faced its own set of challenges; this includes financial constraints and operational inefficiencies.  The company has been working to improve its services and reduce outages, but the ongoing issues with infrastructure and weather-related disruptions continue to hinder its efforts.