ISLAMABAD - Chief Executive Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) Malik Yousaf Awan on Friday assured the industrialists to reduce the loadshedding for the industry, as he fully cognizant of the difficulties of business community due to the energy shortfall.
Chief Executive IESCO gave the assurance during a meeting with a delegation of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry led by its President Muzzamil Hussain Sabri. The delegation apprised Chief Executive of the problems being faced by the local industry due to 4 hours continuous electricity loadshedding by IESCO during peak manufacturing hours.
Addressing the delegation, Malik Yousaf Awan, Chief Executive IESCO said due to energy deficit, IESCO had scheduled total 4 hours daily loadshedding for industry, however, the duration of power shutdown for industry would be slashed to 2 hours at a time so that industry could get some relief in continuing its production activities.  He said IESCO intended to provide maximum facilitation in power supply to industry, but, due to rise in power shortfall, it was compelled to resort to load management. However, he assured that IESCO would try to finalize load management schedules in consultation with business community to provide maximum relief to the industry.
Speaking at the occasion, Muzzamil Hussain Sabri, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry said electricity loadshedding of long durations have rendered large number of workers idle and badly affected the production activities. He was afraid that if power shutdowns for industry were not controlled to minimum possible level, industry would be unable to meet production orders while many workers could lose jobs.
He said IESCO should finalise load management programmes in consultation with business community so that consensus solution of energy shortage could be explored and industry could be saved from further losses.
Khalid Javed former President ICCI said electricity was key input of steel industry and furnaces normally took one hour in warming up due to which steel industry could not afford 4 hours loadshedding at a stretch. He said IESCO should either schedule loadshedding for industry at night time or minimise its duration for industry to facilitate industrial activities.
Tariq Sadiq, former President ICCI said industrialists were ready to cooperate with the government to cope with energy crisis, however, it was not possible to run industry with 4 hours continuous loadshedding. He said IESCO should schedule 2 hours loadshedding at a time for industry to enable it to continue with production activities.