Pakistan: Zero outages claim crumbles as citizens face hours of power cuts in Lahore

Lahore [Pakistan], January 16 (ANI): Despite the Lahore Electric Supply Company's (Lesco) assertion that it had eliminated loadshedding, a large number of residents across both urban and rural stretches of its jurisdiction reported that unannounced power cuts were still occurring.
Lesco had stated that it was supplying uninterrupted electricity to all areas except those connected to feeders with significant line losses.
The company claimed it had received sufficient power from the national grid to meet its actual demand, insisting that load management was no longer required. However, consumers stated that the ground reality did not match the official narrative, as reported by Dawn.
According to Dawn, many residents complained they continued to face forced outages, ranging from one to two hours in city neighbourhoods and even longer in rural pockets. Several callers stated that the disruptions were also affecting water availability, as tube-wells remained non-functional during power cuts.
A senior Lesco official, speaking privately, acknowledged that loadshedding was indeed taking place even in areas served by feeders with no recorded losses, contradicting the claims made publicly by the company's management.
A Johar Town resident said their locality witnessed nearly two hours of power cuts on Thursday, though he conceded the overall duration had declined recently. A Green Town consumer reported similar outages, stating their electricity went out once in the morning and again in the evening. A resident of Kasur's urban belt said the region had endured about 90 minutes of forced loadshedding between 3 pm and 4:15 pm.
He noted, however, that the situation had somewhat improved, as earlier the area faced three to four hours of daily outages. In contrast, he added, Kasur's rural zones were still facing severe shortages, with four to eight hours of daily power cuts, as highlighted by Dawn.
A resident from Batapur in Lahore also complained of four to five hours of outages each day. Lesco's spokesperson had earlier claimed the company was implementing "zero-loadshedding" after receiving adequate power supply, but admitted that feeders with high losses were still subject to three to six hours of cuts, as reported by Dawn. (ANI)