LAHORE: Unannounced load shedding is continuing across Lahore, with outages in several areas extending to several hours at a stretch.
Load shedding was reported in Begumpura, Islampura, Krishan Nagar, Outfall Road, Sant Nagar and Sham Nagar.
Unannounced outages also continued in Johar Town, Kot Lakhpat, Township, Raiwind Road, Thokar Niaz Baig and Multan Road, among other areas of the city.
Power theft was reported as continuing in Chuhng, Sundar, Canal View, Ali Town and along Raiwind Road.
Residents said the outages had caused difficulty in humid conditions, and called on LESCO authorities to end unannounced load shedding.
The distinction residents are drawing is the substance of the complaint, and it is not a technicality.
Scheduled load shedding is published in advance by feeder, allowing households and small businesses to plan around it — running appliances, charging backup systems and scheduling work in known windows. Unannounced outages remove that possibility entirely, and their cost falls hardest on anyone whose income depends on power: tailors, welders, printers, cold storage operators and small manufacturing units across the older commercial quarters named in the reports.
Unannounced outages generally arise from something other than a supply shortfall — transformer failure, feeder tripping under load, or maintenance faults. That distinction matters because the remedy is local distribution investment rather than national generation capacity.
The reference to power theft in Chuhng, Sundar, Canal View, Ali Town and Raiwind Road is connected to the outages rather than incidental to them.
Unmetered connections draw load that the distribution network was not sized to carry. Transformers on affected feeders operate above rated capacity, run hot, and fail more frequently. The resulting outages then hit every consumer on that feeder, including those paying in full.
Distribution companies have historically responded with extended load shedding on high-loss feeders — a measure that reduces technical losses but penalises paying customers alongside non-paying ones, and which residents experience simply as being cut off without warning.
The Lahore Electric Supply Company distributes power across Lahore and neighbouring districts and is responsible for the local network — feeders, transformers and connections — rather than for generation.
Complaints of the kind reported here fall squarely within its operational remit, which is why residents are directing them there.
This report is based on accounts from residents of the areas named. The Lahore Times has approached LESCO for comment on the cause and expected duration of the unannounced outages, on the condition of transformers on the affected feeders, and on what action is being taken in the areas where theft has been reported.
Any response received will be published.
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