Power load shedding in Rawalpindi has exceeded seven hours, while unannounced outages have also begun affecting several cities and rural areas across the country.
Residents of Rawalpindi have expressed strong frustration over frequent power cuts. Students are particularly affected, with electricity reportedly remaining unavailable for around three hours at night in urban areas and up to five hours in surrounding localities.
The Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) has issued an explanation regarding the prolonged outages. According to its spokesperson, IESCO is working to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply to more than 4.2 million consumers across its six operational circles.
The spokesperson said load shedding is being carried out during evening peak hours because the system load increases and the required electricity quota is not available from the National Grid according to demand.
IESCO maintained that load shedding of more than two to two-and-a-half hours within 24 hours is not being carried out on any feeder. It said load shedding would be ended and uninterrupted power supply restored as soon as the required electricity quota becomes available from the National Grid.
The IESCO administration said high humidity and increased electricity consumption have placed additional pressure on the power system. The increased load has also led to a rise in feeder faults, individual complaints and transformer related issues.
IESCO clarified that temporary interruptions caused by faults and complaints should not be considered load shedding.
The company said its operations staff remains fully active to address complaints promptly and urged consumers to avoid unnecessary electricity use during peak hours.
IESCO complaint office numbers and the118 helpline are available round the clock for registering complaints.
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