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Amid the ongoing heatwave, various urban and rural regions of Pakistan's Lahore and adjoining districts have started facing hour-long power outages on a daily basis, Dawn reported. The situation is worse in rural parts of Lahore, where people are experiencing six to eight hours of loadshedding.
A resident of Batapur said, "It is very difficult to spend even an hour without electricity in such extreme heat." He said, "But despite this, our area remains without power for hours every day." He said that when they complained to the authorities regarding the power outages. In response, the Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) said that the area has been marked as a high-loss zone as many consumers steal electricity directly from the distribution system. He stated, "This is why the loadshedding is being carried out." He questioned why they were being deprived of electricity when they regularly paid bills and urged Lesco to stop loadshedding in their area, Dawn reported. Similarly, residents of rural parts of Lahore, Kasur, and other districts have complained regarding long hours of power outages. They described loadshedding on the pretext of high-loss feeders as a form of injustice to those who neither steal electricity nor avoid paying their bills. A resident of rural Kasur said, "Currently, a severe heatwave is ongoing. Loadshedding in such terrible weather is unbearable for the people living in rural areas." He urged the government to instruct Lesco to stop loadshedding during the heatwave. Meanwhile, Lesco Chief Executive Officer Ramzan Butt stated that there is zero loadshedding in 95 per cent of Lesco's service areas, including Lahore, Okara, Sheikhupura, Kasur and Nankana Sahib. He said, "We have a total of 2,236 feeders of 11kV in all service areas. Out of these, loadshedding (of up to a maximum of four hours) is being observed in areas served by 123 loss-making feeders. These feeders have been classified into four types -- Categories 1, 2, 3, and 4." Ramzan Butt said that Category-1 loss-making feeders experience only one hour of loadshedding, followed by Categories 2, 3, and 4, which face two, three, and four hours, respectively. He further mentioned that some areas have effectively become no-go zones for Lesco, as residents He added that some areas have effectively become no-go zones for Lesco since residents there are involved in electricity theft and have also attacked Lesco teams. He said, "Loadshedding in high-loss areas is being carried out under the federal government's policy introduced years ago. This policy has shown positive results in terms of increasing the revenue of power distribution companies." Butt asked people to help Lesco in identifying and taking action against those who steal electricity. Meanwhile, a Lesco team led by the Hamza Town SDO found electricity theft at a plaza in Karim Park, Ferozepur Road. The Lesco spokesperson said electricity was being illegally supplied to a flour unit, a medical store and three houses, Dawn reported. The Lesco team disconnected the illegal supply and, with the help of the police, arrested two persons on the spot. An application was submitted to register an FIR against power thieves. The spokesperson further said that a fine will be imposed on power thieves. (ANI)
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