In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MPs are still causing problems for the firms in charge of supplying energy to the region. On Saturday night, one of their members stormed into a grid station in South Waziristan and forcibly restored power to various locations.
The KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has given parliamentarians permission to use force to restore electrical supplies to feeders that have been without power for more than 12 hours, causing a divide between the province and the federal government.
The Pakistani government owns all power distribution firms, with the exception of K-Electric, which was privatized in 2005. The federal government is responsible for handling matters related to power delivery.
While Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) provides power to the remainder of the province, Tribal Areas Electricity Supply Company (TESCO) is in charge of supplying electricity in tribal areas, which includes North and South Waziristan.
The federal government led by Shehbaz Sharif was forewarned by Gandapur on Friday that things would spiral out of control if loadshedding in his region is not curtailed to a maximum of 12 hours.
On the third day of Eid al Adha, the KP chief minister himself restored the electricity supply, following in the footsteps of his party’s parliamentarians.
Back-to-back protests have resulted from power outages becoming more frequent and longer in certain places as the effects of climate change become more apparent nationwide as temperatures rise.
